On June 26, 2025, deputies responded around 8 p.m. to a reported shooting at a residence on Saint Anthony Road in Utica, Kentucky. Officers found 38-year-old Anthony Scott Smalls with a gunshot wound; he was treated by emergency responders and taken to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital in critical condition but later died. An autopsy found the bullet entered the heart, aorta and a small portion of a lung before lodging in the spine.

Investigators identified and questioned the homeowner, 57-year-old Darrin Ray Carter, who was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and tampering with physical evidence. Authorities say Smalls was shot as Carter opened the door and that there was no apparent altercation before the shooting; a firearm was recovered at the scene and the investigation remains ongoing.

Smalls, known as Scotty to friends and family, was a songwriter and a fan of UK basketball and wrestling; he is survived by his fiancée, father, siblings and other relatives. Does anyone who knew Scotty or who was in the area that night have information that could help investigators?