Indianapolis man convicted in 2018 drive-by killing is sentenced to 60 years in prison

Lawrence Andrea
Indianapolis Star

Update: A Marion County judge sentenced Smith on Friday to 60 years in state prison for his murder. 

Original story: An Indianapolis man was found guilty of murder Monday in connection to a fatal drive-by shooting on the northwest side of Indianapolis in September 2018, court records indicate.

Keith Smith, 38, was convicted on one count of murder nearly three years after 40-year-old Arnell Davis was shot to death in his car while stopped in traffic on North High School Road near West 38th Street on Sept. 29, 2018.

Previously:Man charged with murder in west-side killing

Video footage from nearby businesses at the time of the incident showed a Dodge Ram truck pull up to the passenger side of Davis' car and fire several rounds into his vehicle, according to the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.

Davis was on the phone with his fiancée at the time of the shooting, the prosecutor said, and Davis before he died told his fiancée that “Keith” had shot him. The fiancée also reportedly told investigators "that she was aware of Smith having a contract of $10,000 for someone to kill Davis."

After the shooting, detectives located the Dodge Ram in front of Smith's girlfriend’s residence. Police found fired cartridge casings matching casings from the scene, as well as Smith’s DNA on a paper towel used to wipe down the truck, inside the vehicle.

Cellphone records placed Smith in the area of the shooting at the time it occurred, the prosecutor said.

A sentencing hearing in the case is scheduled for Aug. 20.

Contact Lawrence Andrea at 317-775-4313 or landrea@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @lawrencegandrea.