On the evening of December 2, 2016, 19-year-old Moniteon T. Smith drove his black Nissan Altima to the parking lot of Swett’s Restaurant at 28th Avenue North and Clifton Avenue and waited alone for about ten minutes. A small gold four-door sedan pulled up beside him; witnesses and police say he climbed into the passenger side, a struggle broke out, and he was shot as the sedan sped away. He was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and pronounced dead.

Investigators concentrated on the gold car, described as a small tan or gold four-door—possibly a 2002–2005 Hyundai Sonata—with a temporary tag. Detectives wanted to question 19-year-old Sterling D. Hewitt early in the probe. In July 2018 a Davidson County grand jury indicted 21-year-old Erick Archibald on first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery in connection with the killing; police said the sequence matched early reports. Moniteon was remembered in online tributes as a former Maplewood High defensive lineman, a father of three, and an AutoZone employee.

Did anyone see that gold sedan or remember who was in it that night?