A Rome man who shot and killed his girlfriend for trying to leave him was convicted of her murder Wednesday, the Rome News-Tribune reported.
Nakotah Javez Smith, 34, was arrested in June 2018 and charged in the shooting death of Crystal Dawn Vega, a 30-year-old mother of five he dated for several years.
Vega was shot in the head at the couple’s Floyd County apartment while her 1- and 2-year-old sons were home, authorities said previously. She died three days later.
Credit: WSB-TV
Credit: WSB-TV
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Vega had just given birth to a child she had with Smith, but the infant was still in the hospital at the time. Before police arrived that night, a neighbor testified that he saw Smith carrying two trash bags out of the home, the newspaper reported.
Assistant District Attorney Emily Johnson described Smith as controlling, possessive and obsessive, saying he had a history of abusing his girlfriend physically and emotionally, according to the Tribune.
In addition to malice murder, Smith was convicted of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, two counts of child cruelty and possession of a deadly weapon during a crime.
He was also convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, but that charge was not introduced to the jurors until they reached a verdict on the other counts, the newspaper reported.
Smith’s sentencing is scheduled for next week.
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