Texas man sentenced for shooting trans woman while out on bond for murder

A man in Texas was sentenced to 48 years in prison for shooting a transgender woman in 2023 while he was out on bail on a murder charge.

John Lee Smith III, 25, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for shooting the trans woman, whose name was not released, in a car on the morning of August 23, 2023, Gregg County District Attorney John W. Moore said in a press release posted to social media. Officers from the Longview Police Department were notified that the victim was seeking treatment for a life-threatening gunshot wound at the University of Texas Tyler Main Hospital in Tyler.

Smith at first denied shooting the victim and denied knowing her. He later changed his story and admitted knowing and shooting the victim, but said he did so after discovering she was a trans woman. Police presented evidence establishing that Smith was involved with the woman and that he knew she was trans.

At the time of the shooting, Smith was out on bond on a charge of murder in the death of Phillip Hudson, 31, in Longview on July 21, 2022. Hudson was the father of two children of Smith’s then-girlfriend, and Smith was accused of shooting him to death in front of her, local ABC affiliate KLTV reported in 2023. He was taken into custody but was released on April 3, 2023, after he posted a $125,000 bond.

During the sentencing phase of the trial, Smith’s attorneys portrayed him as a victim of unwanted sexual advances who snapped, while prosecutors said he was always armed while on bond and showed no mercy to others, KLTV reports.

As part of the plea bargain, prosecutors agreed to drop the prior murder charge, plus additional weapons charges. Smith made the plea without a sentencing agreement, knowing he could receive a sentence between two years to life in prison, enhanced by a prior conviction.

The district attorney misgendered the victim in his statement.