A Sarasota rapper known as Shugg Stacks was acquitted by a jury following a week-long trial in April in connection to an August 2020 drive-by shooting on North Washington Boulevard.

Jaymes Smith, 32, was charged with two attempted murder counts in connection to a drive-by shooting where the identity of the shooter was in question.

Sarasota police alleged Smith was the shooter after they learned a black Buick Encore SUV involved in the drive-by had been rented by Smith just 37 minutes before the shooting. In a probable cause affidavit, SPD investigators alleged the shooting was part of an ongoing “cycle of violence” between two rap groups, including a group called Blowin Bandz which included Smith.

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Smith’s mother, Kim Wheeler, feels law enforcement failed to do their due diligence in investigating the case properly by solely focusing on her son as the suspect, leading her family to endure four years of waiting for a resolution and causing mental, financial and emotional strain.

Wheeler told the Herald-Tribune that two witnesses had identified a different individual as the shooter, but police seemed solely focused on her son.

“That right there just kind of makes me lose a little bit of faith, or should I say, trust, in law enforcement,” Wheeler said. “(The) reason being is because they’re here to protect, serve.”

Smith's attorney, Jason Chapman, echoed Wheeler's statement during a phone call. He said two independent eyewitnesses told police there was a second person involved in driving the car and who pulled the trigger, but the state moved forward with prosecuting Smith.

You’ve heard of innocent until proven guilty, Wheeler added, but in her son’s case, she felt like he was treated as though he was guilty until proven not guilty.

The Herald-Tribune reached out to Assistant State Attorney William Greiner, the lead prosecutor on the case, for comment. But Greiner was out of state traveling for several days and could not provide comment.

What to know about the drive-by shooting on North Washington Boulevard

During the afternoon of Aug. 14, 2020, SPD officers responded to a shooting in the 3000 block of North Washington Boulevard, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Officers found four 9mm shell casings and met with a witness who said they were driving down the road when a Buick Encore SUV cut them off, causing them to slam on the brakes.

The witness told police the Buick appeared to be chasing a black Infiniti sedan, according to previous reporting. The Buick pulled alongside the Infiniti, pointed a gun out the driver's window, and fired several shots, according to reports. The Buick was registered to Hertz Rental, and SPD officers alleged the car was rented to Smith. The probable cause affidavit also stated police found the Buick at Smith's mother's home.

In a July 2023 court filing by the defense, Smith states Sarasota detectives interviewed the Hertz employee three days after the shooting. Detectives presented the employee with two photographs, one of Smith and the second of a man identified as Robert Rutledge.

According to the court filing, the employee picked out the photo of Rutledge as the man who rented the car, but the photograph was not placed into evidence.

"The evidence directly establishes reasonable doubt as to Mr. Smith's guilt and should be allowed to be introduced during trial," the court document states.

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The defense also submitted an order to exclude a rap song found on Smith's phone from being introduced during the trial, according to court documents.

In his order, Sarasota Circuit Court Judge Thomas Krug partially granted Smith's motion to exclude the rap song, with the prosecution only able to admit 10 lines for the jury. The prosecution also wouldn't be able to have a witness interpret the song. Instead, the witness could only provide meaning for case-specific terms or names, the order stated.

Krug also indicated he would allow Smith to present evidence regarding the Hertz employee misidentifying the individual during the photo line-up "to disprove the state's assertion" that Smith allegedly committed the shooting as long as the evidence met certain requirements under Florida law.

Defense attorney: Witnesses affected 'credibility'

Chapman, Smith's defense attorney, said he wasn't surprised about the jury's verdict based on the evidence presented and the state's two key witnesses who had criminal histories.

"They went as far as to get two of the worst criminals I've seen testifying for the State to get involved," Chapman said, adding one of the witnesses was called to identify Smith as the shooter.

The witnesses, Chapman added, were looking at life in prison and were granted immunity by the state after admitting to being involved in other shootings.

According to court records, two witnesses who were listed to testify, Rudy Thompson and Victor Orr, both have extensive criminal records and were identified in several exhibits as being the victims of the shooting.

A search through court records for Orr and Thompson revealed they each had a court case within the last three years that either a plea was entered, or a case was dropped, with the condition that they were to be held for trial and to testify.

Orr was arrested in June 2021 in connection to a shooting in November 2020 in which a Sarasota investigator alleged Orr was an occupant in a vehicle that was shot multiple times. In the probable cause affidavit, the officer alleges a firearm was found when they searched Orr's car, a violation of Florida law as Orr has five previous felony convictions.

The case appeared to be heading towards trial in February, however, the prosecution decided to not move forward with prosecuting the case. In an Administrative Order entered Feb. 2, Orr was held in the Sarasota County Jail until Smith's trial.

Thompson was arrested in November 2022 and charged with several counts of drug possession of a controlled substance without prescription, resisting an officer without violence and marijuana possession. He entered a plea in November 2023 and received a sentence of 48 months in prison with credit time served, followed by 72 months on probation in exchange for "truthful testimony" in Smith's case.

As far as using the rap song found on Smith's phone, Chapman pointed to the fact that as with any form of art like movies or books, they can be biographical or autobiographical. There have been plenty of examples of music artists, like Johnny Cash and Bob Marley, who have written songs about a shooting or crime, but no one believes they committed them, Chapman added.

"I think it's important that artists shouldn't be afraid to express their art because of fear that law enforcement may use that against them in a criminal case," Chapman said.

'Missing piece of the puzzle'

Smith is being held at the Sarasota County Jail on a charge of fleeing or eluding police while he awaits a trial that has been scheduled for July.

Sarasota County Sheriff’s deputies allege in a probable cause affidavit that they spotted a man later identified as Smith riding a dirt bike on MLK Jr. Way and did not stop when they activated their emergency lights in June 2023.

Smith later surrendered to deputies after he was tracked by the department's helicopter to a property in the 2000 block of Mango Avenue.

A trial is currently scheduled to begin in July, however, both Wheeler and Chapman alluded to a possible plea.

Smith's mother hopes he's closer to returning home to be with his close-knit family, especially his young daughter. Wheeler said Smith was the second oldest of four children, and each now have their own children who are close in age, so the family has always been close.

"It's like by him being gone, it was kind of like a missing piece of the puzzle," Wheeler said.

Wheeler added she hopes her son can turn the negative experience into a learned lesson of being conscientious with his music and his associations, especially since he plans to continue to pursue his rap career and start a clothing line with his daughter.

"That's pretty much what I have to say about him: never lost faith, never gave up. The time he's been in there, he's had time to reflect on his life in itself," Wheeler said.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota rapper acquitted of attempted murder in 2020 shooting