Suspect goes from hospital to county jail
The man accused of fatally shooting two Westerville police officers on Feb. 10 was transferred to the Franklin County Jail on Sunday afternoon after spending eight days at a local hospital.
Quentin L. Smith, 30, was taken at 4 p.m. Sunday to the downtown jail from the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University. Smith suffered gunshot wounds, allegedly during his exchange of gunfire with Westerville police officers at his Cross Wind Drive town house.
Smith is charged with two counts of aggravated murder in the killing of Westerville Police Officers Eric Joering and Anthony Morelli.
His first appearance in Franklin County Municipal Court will be Tuesday morning. The court is closed Monday for Presidents Day.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien has said that when he considers Smith’s case, it could be eligible for the death penalty, because the two Westerville police officers were killed in the line of duty.
Morelli and Joering had gone to the Cross Wind Drive town house on a 911 hangup call and were shot upon entering the residence. Joering died at the scene; Morelli died of his injuries at Wexner Medical Center.
Candace Smith, who was hiding in nearby bushes, told a dispatcher that her husband, Quentin, had shot the two officers. Their 1-year-old child was still inside when other officers converged.
Westerville police officers had gone to the Smith residence before on domestic disturbance complaints. Candace Smith had inquired about filing a protection order against her husband.
On Feb. 12, Gerald A. Lawson III, 30, of Warrensville Heights was arrested by federal agents at his suburban Cleveland home after investigators accused him of purchasing a Glock semiautomatic handgun that he later sold to his friend Smith. A convicted felon prohibited from having a firearm, Smith is accused of using that handgun to shoot the Westerville officers.