Man sentenced to 44 years in slaying of Nashville schools employee Rasheed Walker
A man arrested in the slaying of a Metro Nashville Public Schools employee has been convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 44 years in prison.
Robert Rasean Smith, 29, pleaded guilty to the charge in Davidson County Criminal Court in the Nov. 14, 2020, fatal shooting of Rasheed Walker, a staff member at Cora Howe Exceptional School.
Walker, who worked at the school for more than 10 years, was 31.
Smith was initially charged with first-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge. In accordance with the plea deal reached on May 5, Davidson County District Attorney spokesman Steve Haslip said Smith will serve the full 44-year sentence behind bars.
Walker was fatally shot in the head outside his brother's barbershop in the 1800 block of Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Boulevard.
His younger brother, Benny Walker, said that on the day of the killing, as he closed up shop and was taking out the trash, he watched Smith, a stranger to him at the time, fatally open fire on his brother.
The surviving Walker said he took cover and fired at least one shot at Smith as he ran in his direction toward a black four-door sedan parked nearby.
Smith, a convicted armed robber and burglar, then got into the sedan's passenger seat, and it sped off.
Metro Nashville Police soon circulated photos of a man wearing an eye patch taken from a security camera at the scene. Smith, soon identified as the shooter, was arrested on Dec. 5, 2020, after his mother saw the photos and alerted authorities.
Detectives determined the motive in the shooting to be robbery.
Walker's death was met with a wave of grief and shock from the community he built around himself as a youth advocate and MNPS staff member.
A Hunters Lane graduate, he founded and served as CEO of the Nashville Pro-Am Basketball League. He also ran a nonprofit, HustleStrong. Both organizations worked to empower youth and build community through sports.
Natalie Neysa Alund is based in Nashville at The Tennessean and covers breaking news across the South for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Man gets 44 years for Nashville schools employee Rasheed Walker killing
