Arrest Warrant Issued For Rochester Drive-By Shooting Suspect

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - An arrest warrant has been issued for a Rochester shooting suspect who was scheduled to stand trial next week.

Olmsted County Court records show the warrant for the arrest of 20-year-old Christopher Lamar Smith was posted after he failed to appear for a pretrial hearing on Monday. His trial, which was set to begin next Monday, has been canceled for the time being.

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Surveillance Video Key in Shooting Case

Court documents indicate Smith is accused of firing multiple shots in the direction of another man during a confrontation outside a northwest Rochester apartment building on May 4, 2024. The criminal complaint says Rochester police were able to use surveillance video to identify Smith as the driver of a black BMW that sped away from the scene moments after shots were fired at the apartment complex in the 6500 block of Lodge View Court Northwest.

Smith was charged with drive-by shooting, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, and illegal possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime of violence. He was released without bail following his arraignment on the felony charges last May.

Investigators Believe the Shots Were Fired From the Car

According to the complaint, Rochester police responded to a report of multiple shots fired just before a black car sped away from the apartment complex. The court document says surveillance video shows another man, 19-year-old Izayah Frazier, standing in the doorway near the apartment complex parking lot holding a bag as the black car approached and parked nearby. It then shows an unidentified man getting out of the vehicle and approaching Frazier before Frazier is seen pulling a handgun from his waistband.

Another Man Charged in Connection With the Shooting Already in Prison

The charging document states that the unidentified man is then seen fleeing on foot with the bag as Frazier runs back into the apartment building. The criminal complaint indicates that it did not appear that Frazier fired his weapon, but it was likely that someone in the black car fired a weapon based on the location of the shell casings and bullet holes found in the apartment building.

READ MORE: Teen Detained for Rochester Apartment Shooting Now Charged As Adult

Frazier previously entered a guilty plea to illegal possession of a firearm and was sentenced to five years in prison.