BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Birmingham man pleaded guilty today to an armed carjacking, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Mickey French.
Tadarrius Lawaun Smith, 23, pleaded guilty to carjacking and carrying and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime. He entered his plea pursuant to a binding Plea Agreement with the government, in which the parties jointly recommended a sentence to include 189 months in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for-October 26, 2021, before U.S. District Judge Annemarie Carney Axon.
According to the plea agreement, on December 4, 2019, Smith carjacked the victim as she was exiting her car in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the Southside area of Birmingham. Smith put a pistol with an extended magazine to her head and made her get back in the car. Smith drove the car to an unknown location and held a pistol to her head and told her that he was going to kill her, he then assaulted her and demanded money. Smith drove her to three different ATMs withdrawing $860 and took her Mastercard because it had a high credit limit. Smith then drove to the 900 block of 1st Avenue South and got out of the car and walked away. The victim drove several blocks down the street, parked, and called her daughter, who called police. Birmingham PD investigators pulled video from the bank and gas station where Smith stopped during the incident. Birmingham Police officers arrested Smith when he arrived at the Jefferson County Courthouse for a probation hearing.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case, along with the Birmingham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alan Baty and Darius Greene are prosecuting the case.