Staff Sgt. Jimmy Lee Smith III, 24, was found unresponsive on Hammock Lane in Raeford, North Carolina, on January 18, 2023, and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Hoke County Sheriff’s Office opened a homicide investigation into his death. Smith was a culinary specialist with the Group Support Battalion of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg; he enlisted in 2016 and served with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea and the 82nd Airborne Division before joining the 3rd Special Forces Group’s support battalion in March 2020. His record includes deployments to Jordan in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and multiple Army commendations and achievement medals with oak leaf clusters.

On March 17, 2023, authorities charged Staff Sgt. Brandon Allen Amos-Dixon, 25, with first-degree murder in connection with Smith’s death. Amos-Dixon was already in custody in Virginia after an unrelated January 18 incident in which he allegedly shot into a vehicle occupied by his fiancée, Chelsea Ling Chung, and her child; both sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Virginia State Police arrested Amos-Dixon following a high-speed pursuit on January 19. He awaits extradition to North Carolina and the investigation into Smith’s death remains ongoing.

If anyone knew Staff Sgt. Smith or has information about what happened on Hammock Lane that day, please share what you know.