Suspect arrested in fatal gold chain robbery of Miami Gardens man

Dequentin Thomas, 22, charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A suspect has been arrested in the fatal robbery of a man who was shot outside his Miami Gardens home in 2015.

Dequentin Thomas, 22, is charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery.

Police said Curtis Smith, 61, was mowing his front lawn on June 2, 2015, when he was ambushed by two men for his gold chain and ID bracelet.

According to an arrest warrant, surveillance video shows a black, four-door sedan circling the area before two men get out of the car and approach Smith from behind as he mowed his lawn.

Police said a struggle ensued and Smith, who was a respiratory therapist at Jackson Memorial Hospital, was shot in the middle of the roadway.

Neighbors said Smith ran back to his driveway but didn't make it inside his home.

Investigators found a .380-caliber shell casing at the scene, along with a broken rosary and a piece of Smith’s chain.

Police said DNA found on the rosary matched the DNA profile of Narquise Russ Jr.

Russ' mother told detectives that her son was hanging out in the summer of 2015 with her cousin, Thomas, who she said was known as “Chocolate.”

According to the arrest warrant, Thomas was in federal custody last April when they identified him as a suspect in the case.

Police said the FBI had conducted a search warrant at Thomas' home for unrelated reasons and confiscated multiple firearms, including the gun that is believed to have been used in the Miami Gardens shooting.

A co-defendant in Thomas' federal investigation told detectives that Thomas tried to sell him the victim's broken chain and ID bracelet because Thomas was trying to get money to get out of town because he knew he was under federal investigation.

Detectives contacted Thomas May 31, 2016, at the Coleman Medium Federal Correctional Institution to speak with him about the shooting, but he invoked his rights not to speak with detectives.

He is expected to be released from federal prison on June 20, 2022, and then will likely be transferred to a Miami-Dade County jail as he awaits trial in the Miami Gardens case.


About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.