Man faces murder charges in connection with Dayton jazz club, supermarket shootings, records show

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Authorities are seeking a man facing murder charges in connection with two shootings outside a Dayton jazz club and supermarket that occurred early December, according to municipal court records.

RELATED: Dayton man, 33, identified as victim of deadly shooting at jazz club

Christopher L. Smith, 28, was charged Friday with multiple counts of murder and felonious assault in connection with the deaths of two men, 33-year-olds Brandon Harris and Clarence Brown, court records show.

Court records indicate Smith is “at large.”

Christopher L. Smith

Credit: MONTGOMERY COUNTY JAIL

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Credit: MONTGOMERY COUNTY JAIL

The criminal charges stem from two Dec. 5 shootings outside Rick's Jazz Club and Save Food Super Market, according to court records.

According to court records, Smith allegedly shot Harris and William Earnest with a .40 caliber handgun around 3 a.m. in front of Rick’s Jazz Lab on Lakeview Avenue, killing Harris and wounding Earnest.

The shooting at Rick’s Jazz Lab was the first of two deadly shootings on Dec. 5 in Dayton at businesses within feet of each other.

Around 10:30 that morning, Smith allegedly shot Brown with a .40 caliber handgun in front of the Save Food Super Market on Germantown Street, within 100 feet of the jazz club, according to court records.

Brown was taken to the hospital where he later died from his injuries.

Smith allegedly committed the murders in front of multiple witnesses and most of the incidents were captured on surveillance cameras, court records state.

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