Crawford man sentenced to 175 years in shootout that injured deputy

Jurors deliberated about 20 minutes Friday before finding a Crawford County man guilty in a 2015 shootout with deputies involving assault rifle fire that crossed U.S. 80 in Roberta, striking a neighbor’s house.

Rickey Eugene Smithey Jr., 32, was sentenced to 175 years in prison after being convicted of three counts of aggravated assault, three counts of aggravated assault on a peace deputy and three counts of attempted murder, said prosecutor Elizabeth Bobbit.

The one-day trial for Smithey, who was acting as his own attorney, was in Crawford County Superior Court.

On March 14, 2015, a deputy was dispatched to Bo’s Racer Food Store, also known as Pleezing Food Store, at about 7:50 p.m. that day, after a customer noticed a store clerk appeared afraid while interacting with Smithey at the store, Bobbit said.

Later, the customer noticed Smithey had a gun and alerted authorities, she said.

A deputy tried to arrest Smithey, who tried to run. An attempt to subdue him with a stun gun failed when the probes missed Smithey’s body. He left on foot, headed to his house adjacent to the store, Bobbit said.

The deputy called for back-up, and a shootout ensued after the deputies told Smithey to surrender.

Neighbors across the street laid down in the yard as bullets from Smithey’s assault rifle crossed U.S. 80, striking a metal grill and their chimney, Bobbit said.

At some point, the neighbors took shelter inside their home, placing a refrigerator between them and Smithey, she said.

Capt. Johnny Cleveland was struck in the shoulder by shrapnel from a bullet allegedly fired by Smithey. Smithey was shot in the arm and hip.

This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Crawford man sentenced to 175 years in shootout that injured deputy."