Friday, April 5, 2024–8:00 a.m.
-John Baliey, Rome News-Tribune-
This story is possible because of a news-sharing agreement with the Rome News-Tribune. More information can be found at northwestgeorgianews.com
What started as a falling out between two friends last year ended on Thursday with two families in mourning.
One family will never see their son again, and it will be years down the road before the other can welcome their son back home.
Dekembe Smith pleaded guilty this week to voluntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime for the shooting death of Keion Harper.
The rift between the two friends began in 2023 when a series of arguments led to a falling out between the men. They’d known each other for years and even worked at the same place, the Kellogg’s plant in Lindale.
Prior to receiving his sentence on Thursday, Smith spoke to the court and the families involved.
“I didn’t prepare a speech. I did want to take the time out to apologize to my family and to my kids and the Harper family too,” Smith said tearfully at the hearing. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I tried my best to avoid any confrontations with Mr. Harper… he meant a lot to me. We just fell out. With us being friends for so long, I figured we’ll just fall out and be friends again later. It didn’t work out like that.
“I still love him and I still want him to be my friend. I don’t feel no hate towards him at all… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
While Thursday’s sentencing hearing primarily centered around who was at fault in the conflict, that was overshadowed by the pain of the two families.
Both families described their loved one as a caring person. Both men were described as people who went above and beyond to help and look after others; they made people laugh and lit up the room when they were in it.
Harper’s mother, in a letter, described him as a person who bridged the gaps between family members when they weren’t getting along.
“He possessed the ability to see life through the eyes of others,” she wrote. “He put his family and friends above all else.”
On Monday, June 12, 2023, he was planning his daughter Kalea’s third birthday party for the following Saturday. He and the girl’s mother had been through trying times together as their little girl’s medical problems surfaced and resurfaced.
But together, she told the court, they made it work.
“I deeply miss him. He meant so much to us,” she told the judge.
As they spoke, Smith was visibly upset. He teared up and shook as Harper’s family members mourned the loss of their son — and as his family came to speak on his behalf, they expressed their support.
They spoke of a smart kid with a good character who loved his family and supported his three children. Gregory Smith, his father, talked about the pride of working with his sons before they were laid off. Moving forward, his son Dekembe then told him about getting a job at Kellogg’s. That job, he told his father, could support his family and earn his way toward buying a home for them.
Smith’s family voiced grief over Harper’s death and the wish that something, anything, could be different. But in the end, Smith’s father said it simply.
“We’ll get past this,” Smith’s dad said. “I love you, son.”
Both families sought some form of justice or hope, but both faced the realization that their loved ones were lost.
“No one really wins,” Keion’s aunt Pascha Burge said to the court.
Sentencing
There wasn’t much question who was the primary aggressor in the June 12, 2023, incident. Smith’s attorney Chris Twyman showed several videos of Harper following Smith outside the plant, taking off his hat and shirt, in an earlier verbal confrontation.
Another video, which also showed the shooting, showed Harper leaving his car and going to Smith’s car several times as they argued. It showed Smith sitting in his car as Harper leans in. At that point, Harper slapped Smith and then quickly moved away from the car. Smith grabbed a pistol and fired, striking Harper twice and killing him.
As part of the plea deal, Smith received a 25-year sentence, with a portion of that sentence — between 10 and 15 years — to be served on probation. It was left up to Floyd County Superior Court Judge William “Billy” Sparks to determine how much time in prison Smith would serve.
Twyman argued that Harper was the primary aggressor and that Smith had avoided several earlier invitations to fight, both on the night of the shooting as well as earlier in other locations.
While prosecutors seemed to accede the point that Harper was the instigator, they argued that Smith also took part.
“It’s the state’s contention that the defendant gave as much lip as he took,” Rome Circuit Assistant District Attorney Elisabeth Giuliani told the court.
“However, I think it’s important to note that Mr. Smith giving lip seems to be in response to provocations by Mr. Harper,” Twyman said.
The judge said he didn’t feel the slap was sufficient provocation to shoot another person and take their life.
Citing the seriousness of the crime, Judge Sparks sentenced Smith to serve 15 years in prison with the remainder of the 25-year sentence on probation. He also denied a request to sentence Smith under the First Offender Act, which would have wiped his record clean once his sentence was complete.
Prior to passing the sentence, Judge Sparks took a moment to comment on the incident.
“What I can see is that we have two, for all appearances, good people who were loved by their family,” he said. “It makes me wonder if, like in the movies, you could have stopped and fast forwarded to today to let everybody see what the results of those actions were… showed them what happened because of a series of events and a terrible decision.”