Teen fatally shot in St. Lucie County yard was 'quiet, laid back' person
ST. LUCIE COUNTY − Vontreaz Banner, 16, was smart and had goals, including being a shoe designer and a truck driver.
“He was going to play basketball for (Fort Pierce) Westwood (Academy),” his mother, Stephanie Smith, 39, said Thursday.
Smith, sitting on a couch in a home off Juanita Avenue, described her son as a “quiet, laid back” person.
Vontreaz died Monday, “gunned down in his front yard” at a residence on Juanita Avenue just west of North 25th Street, according to St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara.
Smith said her son, born in Fort Pierce and known as "Treaz," worked at Waffle House − his first job. She called him “Booda.”
Patricia Smith, Vontreaz’s grandmother, described him as soft spoken and a “very quick learner.”
The shooting happened in front of Patricia Smith’s house, though she said she wasn’t there at the time.
“We all loved Treaz,” Patricia Smith said. “We supported him.”
Stephanie Smith recalled she was going to drop off her son’s work clothes to him.
“I was pulling up in the yard and I seen him laying on the ground, but I thought he was just, like, playing,” she said.
Stephanie Smith was told he’d been shot and was dead, and didn’t comprehend it at first. She apparently pulled up minutes after the shooting happened.
“I would have came maybe 10 minutes earlier or 20 minutes earlier maybe I could have picked him up or something,” Stephanie Smith said.
Mascara Thursday declined to talk about the case, but sheriff’s officials earlier reported they recovered a dark gray 2016 Chevrolet Cruze with a dent on the driver’s side rear quarter panel they said was used in the shooting.
At a Wednesday news conference, Mascara said the car is being gone over by crime scene officials.
“What we don't know, factually, is who was in the car,” he said.
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Stephanie Smith’s brother, Derek Smith, 36, said Vontreaz was “everybody’s world.”
“When he was born, he definitely changed the dynamic in our immediate family,” Derek Smith said. “When he came into the world, he definitely brought a different energy.”
Stephanie Smith wants those with information to come forward.
“No one is perfect ... My son made mistakes. but he was changed,” Stephanie Smith said. “He was loved by many.”
Those with information are asked to call Detective Clay Mangrum at 772-462-3231 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 800-273-8477 (TIPS).
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on Twitter @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Vontreaz Banner, 16-year-old killed in shooting, remembered as 'quiet'
