Gerald Smith pled guilty to the murders of Marvis Pollock and Brittany Hayes-Smith

Baltimore, Md. (January 25, 2023) - Today, a Baltimore City judge handed down two Life sentences, to be served concurrently, to Gerald Smith for the First Degree Murder of Marvis Pollock in the 2600 block of West Fairmount Avenue on May 2, 2021, and Brittany Hayes-Smith at the 2800 block of Clifton Park Terrace on May 3, 2021. Assistant State’s Attorney Alyssa Ragland prosecuted these cases.

“This defendant is a repeat violent offender who took two lives in two days with clearly no regard for humanity or the law,” said State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates. “It is apparent to me that he should never be on the streets of our city again. My heart goes out to the families and community members impacted by these devastating acts of violence.”

On May 2, 2021, at approximately 6:29 p.m., Baltimore Police officers responded to the 2600 block of West Fairmount Avenue for a Shot Spotter alert of multiple gunshots. Upon arrival, officers located a Black male, later identified as Marvis Pollock, lying in the street, suffering from gunshot wounds to the face and upper body. Mr. Pollock was transported to Shock Trauma hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. Ballistic evidence, including numerous spent 9mm cartridge casings, was recovered from the scene.

During the course of the investigation, detectives identified the suspected shooter as Gerald Smith. Electronic surveillance of Smith’s cell phone revealed his presence on scene at the 2600 block of West Fairmount Avenue at the time of the murder. 

Video evidence was also recovered from a convenience store around the corner from the scene, which captured Smith inside the store shortly before the shooting occurred. The footage shows that Smith then left the store, returned to the vehicle he arrived in, grabbed something from inside the car, and then ran towards the crime scene immediately before people in the block began dispersing. A witness also positively identified Smith in the surveillance video, and other witnesses who were at the scene at the time of the shooting placed Smith in the 2600 block of West Fairmount at the time of the shooting.

While detectives were on scene at the West Fairmount location, they were informed that the same suspect, Gerald Smith, committed a murder on May 3, 2021, in the 2800 block of Clifton Park Terrace.

During the execution of a search and seizure warrant at Clifton Park Terrace, several spent 9mm cartridge casings were recovered.

The Clifton Park Terrace shooting occurred as follows: On May 3, 2021, Officers responded to the 2800 block of Clifton Park Terrace for a report of a non-breathing individual. Officers met a man at the scene who stated that he came to the residence to check on the well-being of his daughter, Brittany Hayes-Smith. The man found his daughter lying unresponsive on the living room floor. Medics arrived and pronounced Ms. Hayes-Smith deceased at 12:04 p.m. On May 4, 2021, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide by gunshot wounds.

The investigation revealed that Ms. Hayes-Smith moved out of the residence on Clifton Park Terrace approximately two months prior. At the time, the residence was solely occupied by her estranged husband, Gerald Smith. On the night of March 1, 2021, witnesses were with Ms. Hayes-Smith at a sports bar and restaurant and then left that location with her to go to a friend’s home. Smith found out where Ms. Hayes-Smith was located that night and arrived at the sports bar, later following her to her friend’s house. Ms. Hayes-Smith was last seen leaving her friend’s house at 2:15 a.m. and getting into Smith’s vehicle with him.
An additional witness advised that on May 2, 2021, at approximately 2:00 a.m., they were outside on their front porch of another Clifton Park Terrace residence and did not see the Smith’s car at that time. The witness returned to their porch at approximately 4:30 a.m. and observed the Smith’s car parked in front of the eventual crime scene, where they also heard four gunshots emanate from.

A search and seizure warrant was executed for the residence, where one 9mm luger shell casing, one 9mm cartridge casing, and 13 9mm luger live rounds were recovered. Those 9mm casings matched the casings recovered at the murder on 2600 West Fairmount Avenue. Additionally, a one-way consent phone call was conducted between a witness and Smith, who admitted on the phone to killing Ms. Hayes–Smith.