Texas man convicted in deadly shooting on Avenue A in Rochester

Brian Sharp and Victoria E. Freile, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Updated ·3 min read

UPDATE (July 3, 2023): A Monroe County Court jury on Monday convicted a Texas man in the 2022 shooting death of Jeremy Hamilton Jr.

Trevor Smith III, 24, was found guilty of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, felonies, for the April 9, 2022 killing of Hamilton, 21, of Rochester, on Avenue A, according to the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.

“With a prior felony conviction, Trevor Smith III was on probation and was prohibited from carrying any type of firearm at the time of the homicide,” said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Bokelman, who prosecuted the case. “Instead of taking his history as an opportunity to learn and correct his behavior, Trevor Smith put himself in a position to shoot and kill Jeremy Hamilton."

Smith is scheduled to be sentenced by County Court Judge Meredith Vacca on Aug. 15.

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UPDATE (June 23, 2022): Rochester police officers and members of the U.S. Marshals Violent Felony Fugitive Task Force this week found and took into custody a 23-year-old man in Texas who was wanted in connection with the April 9 shooting death of a Rochester man.

Capt. Frank Umbrino of the Rochester Police Department said that officers from New York, along with Texas' Marshal's Task Force, captured Trevor Smith III of Rochester on Wednesday in Harris County, Texas.

Smith is being held in the Harris County Jail on a warrant charging Smith with second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies, related to his suspected involvement in the fatal shooting on Avenue A of Jeremy Hamilton Jr., 21, of Rochester.

Umbrino said that the slaying appeared to be a drug-related homicide and that Smith fled to Texas shortly after.

Rochester police officers are working on the extradition process and expect Smith will return to Rochester by mid-July, according to the department. Once back in Monroe County, Smith will be arraigned locally, Umbrino said.

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ORIGINAL STORY (April 10, 2022): Jeremy Hamilton Jr., 21, of Rochester was shot and killed in the city on Saturday in an apparent drug-related dispute, police said.

According to police:

Officers responded at 3:30 p.m. to the area of Harris Street and Avenue A for a report of shots being fired. Further information received led officers to St. Paul Street and Clifford Avenue, where they found Hamilton with at least one gunshot wound to upper body.

Investigators think he was shot in the 100 block of Avenue A. He jumped into a car after he was shot, police said, was driven away and met first responders near St. Paul and Clifford.

Hamilton was rushed to Strong Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead shortly after arrival — marking the city's 18th homicide this year.

There are currently no suspects in custody.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call 911, RPD's Major Crimes Unit at (585) 428-7157, or Crime Stoppers at (585) 423-9300. You also can email majorcrimes@cityofrochester.gov.

Contact reporter Brian Sharp at bdsharp@gannett.com or at 585-258-2275. Follow him on Twitter @sharproc. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Trevor Smith convicted in death of Jeremy Hamilton in Rochester NY