Ninth Judicial District Attorney, Andrea Reeb, announced that David Smith, age 40, of Portales, NM, has signed a plea agreement for the crimes of Second Degree Murder and Second Degree Kidnapping. According to the plea deal, Smith would be sentenced to 15 years, and would serve 12 and one-half years in prison, with the remainder of the sentence served on supervised probation/parole.
On November 21, 2015, William Vaughn was airlifted to a Lubbock hospital from Roosevelt General Hospital. Vaughn died a short time later from traumatic brain injury, burns to his body and severe bruising throughout the majority of his body. According to eye witnesses, Vaughn was visiting Smith’s home on November 20, 2015, when a fight ensued between the two men. Vaughn was alleged to be severely beaten and then held in a locked room at the home for over 24 hours before being taken to the hospital for medical attention.
There is a plea hearing tentatively slated for Friday, May 12, 2017, before the Honorable Donna Mowrer.
Deputy District Attorney Jake Boazman is prosecuting the case for the State of New Mexico, and Anna Aragon, Criminal Defense Attorney from Las Vegas, NM, represents Smith.
For more information, please contact the District Attorney’s Office at 575-769-2246.
(News release from the New Mexico Ninth Judicial District Attorney’s Offce)
