MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WRBL) – On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart announced the conviction of a Florida man for carjacking and discharging a firearm in Dothan, Alabama.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Alabama, a federal grand jury in Dothan convicted 50-year-old Steven John Smalley from Panama City, Florida, for carjacking and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
Based on court documents and evidence presented at trial on Sept. 14, 2021, Smalley traveled to a gas station on Ross Clark Circle in Dothan and pulled the vehicle he was driving behind another car parked at a gas pump. At the time, no one was inside the vehicle; Smalley parked behind.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says that after parking his car, Smalley got out of the vehicle he drove, looked into the car in front of him, and then walked inside the gas station.
While inside the gas station, security footage showed Smalley engaging in a conversation with the driver of the vehicle parked in front of the car he arrived in and eventually pulled a firearm out of his pocket and demanded the driver give him the keys to the vehicle. The driver refused, and Smalley attempted to snatch the keys from the driver's hands multiple times. After Smalley's unsuccessful attempts, he pointed the firearm at the driver stating, "Do you want to die today?"
Smalley ended up firing his handgun toward the driver, nearly striking the driver. The driver then placed the keys on a nearby trashcan. Smalley took the keys and drove away in the stolen vehicle.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says the Dothan Police Department responded and quickly "arrested Smalley within walking distance of the gas station."
Smalley's sentencing hearing will be scheduled in the upcoming months, and the U.S. Attorney's Office says he is facing 10 years to life in federal prison.
The Dothan Police Department, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacco, Firearms, and Explosives, investigated Smalley's case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin L. Jones and Joel Feil are prosecuting this case.
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