HANOVER COUNTY, Va. -- The 18-year-old charged with killing another teen at a Hanover County house party earlier this month was held without bond Wednesday. Authorities arrested James Smith, who is from Ashland, in the shooting death of 16-year-old Matthew Devine, who is from Colonial Heights.
Smith is charged with first-degree murder and multiple weapons charges stemming from the shooting that happened during a large house party off McClellan Road on April 6.
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Deputies said the shooting came in the moments after an altercation during the party between Devine and Smith.
The party drew large groups of young people from all over metro-Richmond, deputies said.
Family members for Smith declined to comment following Wednesday's hearing.
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New court documents reveal in greater detail what allegedly led up to the shooting.
A friend of Devine's at the party said the 16-year-old bumped into an unidentified male during the party, who then flashed a weapon, according to a search warrant in the case.
Witnesses told investigators the unidentified male left the house, and Devine followed him to the driveway, the documents say.
Both teens were armed and fired their weapons, according to court documents.
Devine was shot in the chest and died on the scene, authorities wrote. The search warrant was carried out before Smith's arrest.
An affidavit attached to the search warrant shows investigators recovered cartridge casings from two different types of firearms from the scene.
"There’s two different types of guns that were fired here," CBS 6 legal analyst Todd Stone, who reviewed the search warrants, said. "There's a lot going on here and a lot to unpack for a prosecutor and a defense attorney. And so they're going to be processing not just this information, but also any videos that were shot, as well as autopsy results and forensics from the scene because that will help tell the whole story.”
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Stone cautioned that search warrants only contain limited amounts of evidence, but based on the narrative provided to investigators, he expected Smith's defense attorney will likely pursue a self-defense angle.
"With the entry wound in the front, the victim following the defendant out of the house, more than one firearm being fired: those are the types of factors that lend themselves really well to self defense claim," Stone said.
Smith is due back in court in June.
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