A Detroit inmate already serving decades for multiple homicides is now facing even more prison time after corrections officers found a contraband cellphone in his cell. That discovery set off a wider search that prosecutors say turned up written materials tied to what they allege were bogus affidavits other prisoners hoped to use in court. The new sentence was handed down yesterday.
According to ClickOnDetroit, 45-year-old Vincent Smothers was sentenced yesterday to 14 to 58 months after pleading no contest to one count of possessing a cell phone in a correctional facility. Court records cited by the outlet show Smothers had already pleaded no contest to an obstruction-of-justice charge in December 2025 and was sentenced in February to 1 to 40 years for providing a false affidavit to a court.
A press release from the Michigan Attorney General’s Office states that a contraband phone was found in Smothers’ possession in May 2025. Investigators then searched his cell and seized written communications that became the basis for the later obstruction charges. The office announced felony charges connected to those discoveries in August 2025 and described the case as an ongoing investigation.
Smothers has been incarcerated since 2010 after pleading guilty to eight murders, and he later admitted to four additional killings, admissions that helped fuel new scrutiny of at least one earlier conviction and led to the release of a teenager in 2016. As outlined by Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions, Smothers’ confessions were highly detailed and corroborated by investigators.
What Prosecutors Say The Phone Revealed
Prosecutors contend that the cellphone discovery ultimately uncovered false affidavits that other inmates asked Smothers to sign in hopes of securing new trials. ClickOnDetroit reports that a motion for a new trial that relied on one of those affidavits was denied.
Charges And Penalties
The Michigan Attorney General’s office says Smothers and another inmate, Shannon Anderson, were charged with obstruction of justice and notes that possessing a cell phone in a correctional facility is a felony offense. According to the office, both men were charged as fourth-offense habitual offenders, and the investigation remains active.
Broader Problem Inside Prisons
Federal prosecutors and corrections officials have repeatedly warned that contraband phones allow incarcerated people to orchestrate crimes, coordinate drug trafficking and intimidate witnesses far beyond prison walls. Recent federal cases, including a U.S. Department of Justice prosecution of a drug ring that authorities say was directed from inside Oklahoma prisons using contraband phones, highlight how smuggled devices can fuel crime beyond facility fences; see the U.S. Department of Justice for details.
Smothers’ latest sentence adds to the legal penalties he has accumulated while serving a decades-long term, and authorities say the matter remains under active review as investigators continue to analyze the materials seized from his cell.
