Gregory Smith was given 9 years in prison after pleading guilty to a hit-and-run crash on Fuqua Street that killed a Houston musician, records show.Nearly two years after a man was hit by a truck and left to die in a southwest Houston parking lot, the suspected driver pleaded guilty.
On Oct. 19, a judge sentenced Gregory Dewayne Smith to nine years in prison after he admitted guilt to running over 32-year-old Ezequiel Quintanilla, resulting in his death.Quintanilla and a 27-year-old woman were walking in the parking lot after watching a friend's band at El Buho bar when Smith hit them with his vehicle, according to charging documents.Court records state that Smith's passenger told police they had been drinking.
Smith's attorney, Edward Okwueze, told ABC13 back in 2022 that the passenger's statements are contradictory, noting she also told police she did not remember leaving the bar or getting into Smith's black pickup truck. Records show Smith was out of jail on a personal bond for a misdemeanor DWI at the time of the crash.
Eyewitness News spoke with Quintanilla's family back in January 2022, when police were still searching for Smith.