Teen charged as adult in murder of his uncle, Miami High football coach Corey Smith
The teen accused of murdering his uncle, Miami High Stingaree football coach Corey Smith, was charged as an adult Tuesday, setting up a potential legal fight over whether the 15-year-old is mentally competent to stand trial.
Charles Alexander was charged by state prosecutors with second-degree murder and third-degree grand theft in the Sept. 21 shooting of the popular coach. But the teen has already been declared mentally incompetent at trial four times in an open juvenile court case stemming from allegations that he made bomb threats at Georgia Jones-Ayers Middle School in Allapattah two years ago.
His attorney Rod Vereen said Tuesday that he’ll argue the same in the case of Smith’s murder. He said he plans to file a motion also seeking to have the teen again declared incompetent and said his client will be re-evaluated by doctors.
“For the past couple of years, he’s been declared incompetent,” Vereen said. “I couldn’t file a motion until they direct filed. Now it will be my basis for barring proceedings.”
Direct file is the term used by prosecutors, in this case the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, when they charge a teenager as an adult. It was not unexpected in this case as most teens accused of murder in Florida are charged as adults. But the move can have immediate repercussions for accused teenagers. In Charles’ case, since bond was denied, he is expected soon to be transferred to an adult jail where he will remain until trial or a court orders him moved.
The teen has a troubled family history. His father, Lamar Alexander, 41, was killed in a locally televised police shootout last year after robbing a Coral Gables jewelry store and hijacking a UPS truck with the driver still inside. Before the shootout, Alexander had served a decade behind bars for robbing a jewelry store in Lee County.
Smith and Alexander were technically cousins, but were raised as brothers and Smith considered the teen his nephew.
Prosecutors have accused Charles Alexander of using Smith’s 9mm handgun to shoot him in the den of his Northwest Miami-Dade home in the Little River neighborhood. They say he had called his uncle and asked if he could spend the night, then shot the coach in the morning. According to police, surveillance footage confirmed that the teen was the only person in the home at the time of the shooting. Police said more than $7,000 in cash that belonged to the coach was found in the pocket of Charles’ jeans, which were found in a black bag.
At first, the teen told police he was studying when he heard gunfire. Police initially released him after a four-hour interview, but said he gave “inconsistent statements” about what happened inside the home, and he denied any involvement in the murder. But two days later, police said Charles’ mother called and said she was “in fear of the defendant,” and admitted her son confessed to her about the murder.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 11:53 AM.
