FROM: Jody Pickens, District Attorney General, 26th Judicial District
Madison County Man Convicted of First Degree Murder
On December 17, 2019, at approximately 3:47 A.M., Jackson Police Department officers Nathan Howard, Clayton Smith, and Jeremy Dunlap were dispatched to a shots fired called at 32 Foxlea Cove in Jackson, Tennessee.
The resident and her two small children woke to gunfire as someone in a white Buick fired from the road into the home.
Approximately thirty minutes later, another shots fired call went out from 218 Lenoir Avenue. Upon arrival Officers Zachary Cobb and Jonathan McCrury found forty-seven-year-old Charlene Allbright and six of her children present in the home.
Despite Officer Cobb’s attempting lifesaving measures on Allbright, she succumbed to the multiple gunshot wounds she received while sleeping on a mattress in the living room.
Investigator Robert Groves and Lieutenant Nick Donald led the investigation into both shootings.
Investigators gathered evidence identifying Aleriq Smith, born 1999, of Jackson, Tennessee, as the only person at both scenes during the shootings.
Using video from various sources, Sergeant Adam Pinion tracked Smith’s mother’s white Buick Lucerne traveling from 32 Foxlea to 218 Lenoir.
Madison County Chief Deputy John Lewoczko matched the shell casings from both scenes to one gun.
Investigator Kevin Mooney reconstructed the 218 Lenoir Avenue scene, which enabled him to deduce that Smith was right outside the window when he fired into the residence.
Aleriq Smith was arrested January 26, 2020, and was interviewed by Lieutenant Donald, Investigator Groves, and Captain Chris Chestnut the following day. Smith initially denied any involvement in the shootings but ultimately confessed to shooting at both locations.
Smith stated that he was angry because his friend was shot and killed earlier in the evening of December 17, 2019, and he went to both 32 Foxlea Cove and 218 Lenoir Avenue to get revenge against the person he believed was responsible.
The proof at trial showed that Charlene Allbright was not responsible for any of the violence exhibited that night.
On July 5, 2022, the Madison County, Tennessee Grand Jury indicted Aleriq Smith for First Degree Murder, Attempted First Degree Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Employing a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, and Reckless Endangerment with a Deadly Weapon.
On February 23, 2023, after a two-day trial, a Madison County jury convicted Aleriq Smith on all charges in the indictment. Assistant District Attorney General Bradley F. Champine represented the State of Tennessee at trial.
Aleriq Smith was sentenced to life in prison for the murder convictions by Judge Kyle Atkins.
“The trial in this case exhibited the excellent investigation conducted by many members of the Jackson Police Department. The verdict shows that this community will not tolerate a man taking revenge into his own hands,” said District Attorney General Jody S. Pickens. “The defendant chose to continue a cycle of retaliation and violence that resulted in his taking an innocent life, thereby ensuring that he would spend the rest of his own in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Charlene Allbright’s life was taken in retaliation for a crime she did not commit.”
(PHOTO: Aleriq Smith)
