Gaven Smith was a seventeen year old living in Florida when he would murder Trenton Fort
According to court documents Gaven Smith and Trenton Fort were involved in a drug deal gone wrong when Smith would shoot Fort in the chest. The teenager would be rushed to the hospital however he would die from his injuries.
Gaven Smith co defendant Ashton Tyler Riggs would plead guilty to being an accessory and would receive a one year jail sentence
Gaven Smith would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in prison
Where Is Gaven Smith Today?
Gaven Smith is currently incarcerated at the Mayo Correctional Institute Annex
Gaven Smith Current Information
| DC Number: | W81265 |
|---|---|
| Name: | SMITH, GAVEN W |
| Race: | WHITE |
| Sex: | MALE |
| Birth Date: | 12/19/2002 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 12/22/2021 |
| Current Facility: | MAYO C.I. ANNEX |
| Current Custody: | CLOSE |
| Current Release Date: | 02/10/2035 |
Gaven Smith Case
A now 18-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the Feb. 24, 2020, shooting death of 16-year-old Trenton Fort in Callahan.
Gaven Walker Smith, a West Nassau High School student like the victim at the time of the shooting, received the sentence after pleading guilty to third-degree murder on Sept. 24 in a Nassau County courtroom.
Circuit Court Judge James Daniel also ordered 10 years of probation for Smith, who also entered a guilty plea on a second charge of possession of a weapon by a juvenile delinquent last month.
Fort, a West Nassau High School football player, was shot in the chest while in a car parked with friends about 4:30 p.m. that day at Spring Lake Drive and Deer Run Road about 3 miles from the school. At the time, Undersheriff Roy Henderson said the students knew each other and were involved in a “drug deal gone bad.”
Smith and co-defendant Ashton Tyler Riggs, 17 and 16 years old at the time, were initially charged as juveniles. But Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper upgraded them to adult status after their arrests.
Riggs entered a plea in April that gave him a one-year jail sentence and five years’ probation, the State Attorney’s Office said. He had been charged as an accessory in the crime
Gaven Smith sentenced for shooting death of West Nassau High classmate
Gaven Smith News
Paige Hall wears a memory of her 16-year-old son around her neck.
Trent Fort was shot and killed at the intersection of Spring Lake Drive and Deer Run Road near Lem Turner Road last year.
“It’s not okay for these kids to get a gun and go shoot another child, it’s not okay,” Hall said.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s office called it a drug deal “gone wrong.”
On Thursday morning 18-year-old Gaven Smith went before a judge over zoom to plead guilty in Trent’s death.
He along with another teen Ashton Riggs are both facing third-degree murder charges.
Hall told Action News Jax Smith deserves to be behind bars.
“I feel like he made an adult decision when he decided to take Trenton’s life. He knew what he was doing when he grabbed the gun. He knew what he did when he pulled that trigger, that wasn’t a bad decision it was an adult decision, and he killed my son.
She told me Trent was supposed to start his senior year of high school this year at West Nassau High School.
He was a rising football player with dreams of one day playing for FSU and the NFL.
Callahan is a small town and Trent’s teammates were like his family. He grew up with them. That’s why his school put up this banner in his memory for everyone to see when they walk out onto the football field.
“He’s their angel in the end zone is what they call him. and they’ve got his picture and he’s surrounded by the seniors,” Hall said.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 29th with potential Jury selection for that day.
Gaven Smith pleads guilty in the fatal shooting of a Nassau County football player – Action News Jax
