Our card this week is Darnell Smith, the 5 of Diamonds from California.

Darnell Smith’s family never expected him – a pastor’s son and an ambitious student – to get killed in a hail of gunfire. For a young man without even a whisper of a criminal record, no one would have expected his life to end in such a violent way at the age of twenty. But Darnell Smith’s death became entangled in a world his family was never a part of — and left investigators scrambling to unravel what would soon become a neighborhood nightmare. For more than a decade it seemed like there was no hope for justice… but when our reports went to visit one of the crime scenes … they may have stumbled upon the key to solving this case.

Listen to the first-ever in-depth coverage of Darnell Smith's case only on The Deck.

• If you know anything about the murder of Darnell Smith in San Diego, California, on June 15, 2008, it’s time to come forward. Currently, there’s a $3,500 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible. You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers of San Diego at 888-580-8477. You can also call Detective Barr’s desk phone at 619-531-2239.

Resources:

• A book by Francis Jones, Darnell’s stepmother: “Why? My Journey of Overcoming Grief.”

View source material and photos for this episode at: thedeckpodcast.com/darnell-smith

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