A fire was reported just after 6:30 a.m. on March 13, 2024, at a single-family home with an adjoining two-story duplex in the 5300 block of Pine Avenue, Long Beach. Firefighters located 54-year-old Willie Smith inside the first-floor unit while extinguishing the blaze; the fire was contained by 6:40 a.m. Initially unclear, the cause of Smith’s death was later determined by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner to be multiple gunshot wounds, and the death was classified as a homicide.

Long Beach Police detectives identified two suspects: 31-year-old Preston Jabari Prince of Long Beach and 27-year-old Kevin Anthony Leslie Jr. of Los Angeles. Both men were arrested on suspicion of murder on April 26, 2024; Prince was also charged with a parole violation and held without bail, while Leslie’s bail was set at $2 million. The motive for Smith’s killing remains under investigation.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Long Beach Police Department homicide detectives.