Suspect in murder of Waynesboro man in Hagerstown arrested in Greencastle

Hagerstown Police, with the assistance of Greencastle Police, arrested another suspect Monday in the Oct. 14 shooting death of a Waynesboro man.

Brock Jerome Smith, 31, of Hagerstown, was being held Monday in the Franklin County Jail on a homicide warrant issued in Hagerstown, according to Hagerstown and Greencastle police news releases.

Smith is being held at the jail until he can be extradited to Maryland, perhaps later this week, said Lt. Rebecca Fetchu, spokeswoman for the Hagerstown Police Department.

The homicide warrant was issued recently in connection with the shooting death of 40-year-old Daynard Devere Johnson on the 300 block of Henry Avenue, according to Fetchu.

Smith was charged with first- and second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, and other charges, according to the Hagerstown Police release.

Fetchu said Hagerstown Police had Smith under surveillance Monday when authorities thought they spotted him getting into a car.

Greencastle Police were called to assist when the vehicle got off Interstate 81 onto Route 16, also known as East Baltimore Street in Greencastle, authorities said. Smith was taken into custody without incident around 12:20 p.m. Monday in the 400 block of East Baltimore Street.

In late October, Hagerstown Police charged the suspected wheelman, Alexander Daniel Brooks, 25, of South Potomac Street, with first-degree and second-degree murder in connection with the Murph Avenue homicide. Hagerstown Police arrested Brooks in Ocean City, Md., with the assistance of the Ocean City police, U.S. Marshals and the Maryland State Police Apprehension Team.

The application for statement of charges said Brooks was the owner and driver of a Dodge Ram that followed a silver Audi from the Sheetz on West Washington Street to Henry Avenue, where the shooting was reported at 10:25 p.m. on Oct. 14.

The document said the killing "was captured on the city owned surveillance camera system in its entirety."

When police arrived on Henry Avenue, Johnson was found face down on the sidewalk with bullet wounds to his head, chest, abdomen and hand, the document said. He got out of the passenger seat of the Audi before collapsing.

Johnson was pronounced dead 11 minutes after police arrived.

City cameras showed Johnson was in the passenger seat of the Audi talking to an unknown male when a person approached the car and fired several shots into the passenger side, the document said. The gunman then ran away.

Police reviewed surveillance camera video, which showed the Ram had followed the Audi along several streets prior to the shooting. That video showed Brooks was driving the vehicle throughout the incident and, prior to the shooting, had a passenger whose clothing matched that of the shooter.

Just before the shooting, the Ram pulled over nearby and the passenger seat was observed to be empty, the document said. After the shooting, the truck turned onto Bethune Avenue.

At the same time, cameras recorded the gunman running from Henry Avenue up a stairway leading to Bethune Avenue, the document said. The gunman appeared to have sustained a gunshot wound to the leg during the attack, although the court document did not explain how that might have happened.

The truck is then seen leaving Bethune Avenue onto Bethel Street, the document said.

An officer is cited in the charging document as believing the suspected gunman arrived in the Ram pickup, was dropped off and then shot Johnson before running back to where the truck was parked on Bethune Avenue.

Nowhere in the charging document is the suspected gunman identified by name.

Asked Monday if Smith is the gunman, Fetchu said Smith was involved. She would not release further details because the investigation is active.

Fetchu said more arrests are anticipated in connection with the homicide.

Brooks is being held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center.