Howard Charles Smith’s criminal history and a solicitation on Facebook helped the victim identify him. (Fla. Dept. of Corrections | Sumter Co. Sheriff’s Office)
LAKE PANASOFFKEE, Fla. (TND) —
It took three years, but a man convicted of hitting a motorcyclist in a bit of road rage and then driving away has started serving his latest prison sentence.
It’s Howard Charles Smith’s sixth trip to state prison in Florida.
The victim told a sheriff’s deputy the guy who hit him was driving a brown Chevy Blazer SUV, and he “displayed road rage-type behavior.”
The arrest report from April 5, 2021, continued, “The defendant passed the victim and then started stepping on his brakes in an attempt to make the victim crash.
“The victim passed the defendant and yelled, ‘you’re going to kill someone,’ while he was beside his vehicle.
“While he was yelling at the defendant, the defendant flicked him off and then intentionally swerved into his lane, striking his motorcycle, which caused him to lose control and crash.
“The driver’s side of the defendant’s vehicle struck the victim’s right hip and the right side of his motorcycle, tearing the foot peg off.
“After striking his motorcycle, the defendant then drove off.”
The deputy also spoke to “two independent witnesses” who confirmed what the victim said.
The victim didn’t leave the investigation to the authorities.
“The victim later posted the incident on Facebook and received an anonymous tip that the driver of the vehicle was the defendant, Howard Smith.
“The victim then went on the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office booking photo website and was able to positively identify the defendant via an old booking photo.
“The victim also reported the anonymous source informed him the defendant was going to get his vehicle fixed to hide the damage.”
Plus, the arrest report said the victim identified Smith in a lineup that used “a newer photo of the defendant.”
Finally, the deputy went to Smith’s home and wrote, “The defendant initially denied any involvement or knowledge of an incident with a green motorcycle on Monday, April 5, 2021, but later admitted to passing by a green motorcycle at the ‘dog park.’”
The deputy described “damage on the driver’s side of the defendant’s vehicle, [specifically] a hole in the rear, driver’s side door, consistent with the positioning of the victim’s motorcycle foot peg, along with scratches and dents on both driver’s side doors.
“The defendant claimed someone backed into his vehicle while he was at work, which caused the damage.”
That excuse didn’t work.
Smith was arrested for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and he spent six days in jail.
From there, the court agreed to multiple delays.
Smith was arrested on May 2 of this year, then adjudicated guilty without a trial on May 10.
That same day, he was sentenced to 2 years in prison, prison minus 25 days served, and he’ll have to pay $3,798.60 in restitution to the victim.
Smith, 62, previously spent time in state prison on a variety of burglary charges: 1985-86, 1988-89, four months in 1991, 1995-96, and 2002-06.
He also escaped from jail in Marion County in 1994.
In 2002, Smith was adjudicated guilty of burglary and petit-theft-third or subsequent conviction.
Then somehow, in 2009, he was adjudicated guilty of petit theft-first offense and trespassing. The prosecutor dropped a grand theft charge.
For now, his release is scheduled for April 15, 2026.
