$1 million bond for Lockland murder suspect

CINCINNATI (FOX19) - Bond was set at $1 million Monday for the suspect in a Lockland homicide last week.

Demetri Smith, 26, is held on a murder charge at the Hamilton County jail.

Smith is accused of gunning down 21-year-old Tremell Jones Jr. on North Wayne Avenue late Wednesday, court records show.

A grand jury is scheduled to consider the case for indictment in July.

Smith was charged based on detectives’ investigation, witness statements and video surveillance, according to his criminal complaint.

He remained on the run until early Saturday, when Sharonville police responded to reports of shots fired at LivINN Hotel Cincinnati / Sharonville Convention Center, 11385 Chester Rd.

Officers said they found several vehicles struck by gunfire - and Smith armed with a gun, hiding on the hotel property.

They determined he was wanted for the Lockland homicide and took him into custody without further incident, police wrote in a news release Saturday morning.

Police said they also realized there was a second shooting suspect in the Chester Road incident, and he was recovering from a gunshot wound at an area hospital.

Antonius Carter, 31, was listed in stable condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center at last check, according to the news release.

Charges are pending on both suspects for the incident on Chester Road, police said.

Smith is a convicted felon who was sentenced to six years in prison in 2014, court records show.

He pleaded guilty to an aggravated street robbery in Lockland. The victim was held up at gunpoint and struck several times in the head, records state.