Canton man claims self-defense for fatal shooting of his mother's fiancé during argument

CANTON – Savier D. Smiley was 18 years old and legally barred from having a weapon when he fatally shot his mother's fiancé inside their Canton home, Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Kristen L. Mlinar told a jury on Tuesday.

Smiley, now 19, is on trial in Stark County Common Pleas Court, having pleaded not guilty to charges of murder , involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, felonious assault, and having weapons under disability. Each charge carries a specification that a gun was used in the crime. Each specification carries a mandatory three-year prison sentence if he's found guilty.

Initial charges: Canton police charge teen with murder following fatal shooting

Judge Natalie R. Haupt is presiding over the trial that started with jury selection Monday.

Dontae T. Crayton was shot shortly before 10:30 p.m. Oct. 20 and later died in a Canton hospital.

What happened between Savier D. Smiley and Dontae Crayton?

Both Mlinar and defense attorney Keith A. Warstler Jr. said that the shooting followed an argument inside their Maple Avenue NE home between Crayton and Smiley's mother Yolanda Jones, and that Crayton spat on Jones.

Warstler said Crayton, 37, pinned Jones against a wall and was spitting on her "like a worthless dog.

"And he intervenes, and says, 'Get off my mother. You need to leave. Quit spitting on my mother,'" the defense attorney said.

Mlinar said Smiley's girlfriend, Courtney Daniska, was trying to calm down Smiley and get him to leave Crayton's presence. Smiley initially left the room, but returned to Crayton as the argument between him and Jones continued.

At that point, Smiley took a gun from his waistband and shot Crayton with a gun loaded with hollow-point bullets, Mlinar said.

After multiple 911 calls reported the shooting, police arrived and began administering first aid to Crayton, trying to seal the wound in his abdomen and giving chest compressions.

Warstler said Crayton provoked Smiley by spitting on his mother.

But Mlinar countered that Crayton didn't injure anyone, and the state will prove that Smiley did not shoot Crayton in the defense of himself or his mother.

"Mr. Crayton did nothing so egregious in this case as to warrant being shot," she said.

Self-defense or murder?

Warstler said no injury is necessary for a finding that a defendant acted in self-defense, only the honest belief that he or his mother was in danger of bodily harm.

"In his statement to police, Mr. Smiley says he didn't even mean to shoot him," Mlinar said.

Canton police detective J.T. Hampton testified that people in the house where the shooting occurred identified Smiley as the shooting suspect.

Detective Matthew Thomas testified that Smiley was found shortly after the shooting at his girlfriend's nearby home, and that Smiley's 9mm gun was under the mattress in her room.

Smiley was prohibited from having a gun because he was convicted in 2020 of a juvenile burglary charge, a crime that would have been a felony if he had been an adult at the time.

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton man claims self-defense for fatal shooting of his mother's fiancé during argument