Teen Relative Arrested For Allegedly Fatally Shooting Miami Football Coach And Stealing Over $7000

A Florida teen has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a Miami high school football coach who was found dead on Sept. 21 at his home in Miami-Dade County. He was also believed to have stolen a sum of $7,450 from the deceased person’s house.

Charles Alexander, 15, faces charges of second-degree murder and armed grand theft. The teen will be eventually charged as an adult, Miami Herald reported.

Corey Smith, 46, was shot multiple times, was pronounced dead at the scene by the responding cops. Investigators believe that Alexander used a 9mm handgun owned by Smith to shoot him inside a den. Alexander was the only person present inside the house at the time of the shooting, CBS Miami reported, citing an arrest report.

Charles told investigators that he was in the bathroom when he heard at least three gunshots. Cops examined surveillance footage from a neighbor’s home which showed no one other than Charles entering Smith’s house through the front door. However, he denied any involvement in the murder during a subsequent interrogation.

Police said Charles provided inconsistent statements during the interrogation. Cops found "six FC 9mm Luger spent shell casings and additional firearms evidence" during a search inside the residence and also found the stolen cash, bundled with rubber bands, "concealed among the defendant’s personal belongings," the arrest report stated, according to CBS Miami.

A Beretta pistol belonging to Smith was reportedly found in a garbage can on the side of the house, and ballistics confirmed the shell casings were fired from the Beretta.

Charles' mother, who was unidentified, reportedly called police on Sept. 23 claiming that he confessed to her about committing the crime. He was arrested on the following day, Sept. 24, with a Miami-Dade juvenile court circuit judge ordering he be held in secure detention. The boy is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 15.

Charles is the son of Lamar Alexander, 41, an ex-con who was shot to death by police during a gun battle in Miramar after hijacking a UPS truck driver in Dec. 2019. Lamar was a cousin of Smith and the latter considered Charles his nephew, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

During a Friday hearing, an attorney for Charles reportedly told the judge that he should be given psychological evaluation for having a history of mental illness.

Amina Smith, Smith’s wife, told the Tampa Bay Times that Smith picked Charles up Sunday and he spent the night at his residence. She said she left for work before the shooting happened.

Smith joined Miami-Dade County Public school as a football coach in 1999, and also taught at Charles Drew Middle School in Miami-Dade’s Brownsville neighborhood, according to ABC 10.