Kansas City Man Sentenced for Cyberstalking That Resulted in Murder

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for one count of cyberstalking resulting in death.

Michael Smith, also known as "Black Mike," 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark for one count of cyberstalking resulting in death. Smith was sentenced to 360 months' imprisonment, and the sentence was ordered to run consecutive to a 48-month sentence which Smith previously received in a separate $1.1 million insurance-fraud scheme.

In his plea of guilty, Smith admitted that he was hired to kill the victim in late January or early February 2019. To carry out the murder, Smith and co-conspirator Dontay Campbell obtained a GPS tracking device and on March 5, 2019, Smith and Campbell deployed the GPS device on the victim's red Chevrolet Tahoe by placing the device under the vehicle. Smith used the GPS device to track the victim through the movements of his Tahoe. On several occasions, Smith used the GPS tracking device to physically locate the victim.

On March 16, 2019, Smith surveilled the victim as they drove to a Kansas City grocery store. When the victim left the store and walked back to the Tahoe, Campbell and a co-conspirator pulled up next to the Tahoe in a Chrysler Sebring. The co-conspirator exited the Sebring and shot at the victim several times with a Ruger .40-caliber handgun that belonged to Campbell. During the shooting spree, Campbell attempted unsuccessfully to remove the GPS tracker from the vehicle.

Campbell and the co-conspirator then ran back to the Sebring, briefly drove around the parking lot, and parked again near the Tahoe. The co-conspirator again fired multiple shots into the Tahoe while Campbell again tried unsuccessfully to retrieve the GPS tracker. Campbell and the co-conspirator then sped out of the parking lot in the Sebring.

The victim died from multiple gunshot wounds, and Smith was paid in cash for the murder.

Co-defendant Dontay Campbell has also pleaded guilty to cyberstalking resulting in death and is awaiting sentencing.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Trey Alford, Nicholas Heberle, and Matthew Wolesky. It was investigated by the FBI and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

Operation Take Back America

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.