Rashad Laron Smith, a 44-year-old Black man, was remembered by his grandmother as a kind person whose death left a big hole in her heart. He was reportedly in an on-and-off relationship with 39-year-old Celina R. Garcia, a woman her sibling described as a “ray of sunshine” who was wonderful, generous, and loving.
In the early morning hours of March 23, 2022, Smith and Garcia were with two other people, including 24-year-old Zachary Joseph Thomas Naifeh, in a Jeep in Tucson, Arizona. After the group had been to a casino, they stopped in an alley near South 12th Avenue and Corona Road. According to investigators, an argument between Smith and Garcia turned physical. Naifeh ordered Smith to get out of the vehicle several times, but he refused. Naifeh then exited the Jeep, opened Smith’s door, and shot him in the chest.
After Smith was shot, Naifeh ordered Garcia to push his body out of the car. She did, then got out herself and knelt beside Smith.
Witnesses in the area told police they heard an argument, a single gunshot, and then a woman pleading, “No, no, no. I have kids.” This was followed by five to seven more shots. Authorities said Naifeh ordered Garcia to get back in the car and start it, but when she stood up, he shot her four times. Naifeh then got back into the Jeep and forced the fourth person in the car to drive away. When Tucson police officers arrived around 3:30 a.m., they found Smith and Garcia, who were both pronounced dead at the scene from gunshot wounds.
Detectives obtained a description of the Jeep that was seen leaving the area and learned that both the vehicle and a 9mm handgun had been reported stolen earlier that month. Two days later, on March 25, police located the Jeep and found Naifeh driving it. Inside the vehicle was a 9mm handgun that matched the one used in the killings. Naifeh, who was an acquaintance of both victims, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He was held in the Pima County Jail on a $2 million bond.
In May 2023, a jury found Zachary Naifeh guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. During sentencing, the prosecutor called the incident a “senseless act of violence” and an “execution,” while the judge described the shootings as “cold and calculated.” In June 2023, Naifeh was sentenced to two consecutive natural life terms in prison without the possibility of parole. He also received additional consecutive sentences of 21 years for armed robbery and 13 years for theft.
