1 charge dismissed, 9 remain against man on Hamilton County's most wanted list

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

photo Oshae Smith is escorted back to his holding cell following a hearing by General Sessions Court Judge David Bales.

Freshly off a stint on Hamilton County's most wanted list, Oshae Smith appeared in court Tuesday for the first time since his arrest last week on gun charges.

Smith remains at the Hamilton County Jail on a $225,000 bond after General Sessions Court Judge David Bales scheduled another court date of June 20 for what the judge described as "a stack of cases" against him.

Bales dismissed a charge of aggravated robbery against Smith. His remaining charges include evading arrest, failure to appear, theft, drugs, assault, resisting arrest, aggravated criminal trespassing, reckless endangerment and a possessing a firearm during commission or attempt to commit a felony.

Police found that Smith, 19, tossed away a loaded .40-caliber handgun while fleeing from officers in East Lake on May 28. He then jumped into the bed of a pickup truck on East 26th Street where police found him, according to an arrest affidavit.

Smith was among three men who came under scrutiny in the unsolved 2013 shooting death of Eric Fluellen that the Times Free Press chronicled last year in the "Speak No Evil" story series.

The two other men also have been arrested on gun charges in recent weeks.

Dominic Wright, who is being held without bond, was also scheduled to appear in Sessions Court on Tuesday but his hearing was rescheduled for Thursday.

Lee Clements Jr., who was charged but not indicted in Fluellen's death, is scheduled to appear in court on June 11.

Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731.