Marion County prosecutors say a southwest Indianapolis woman was killed in a calculated murder-for-hire plot in July 2023, according to newly filed court records. Those filings allege the defendant arranged to pay an out-of-state shooter roughly $15,000 taken from his wife's life-insurance policy and used burner phones to coordinate the attack. The same documents identify an alleged triggerman and set a bench trial for the defendant later this summer.
Smith-Robinson was arrested in Tennessee in November 2024 after a brief foot chase and booked as a fugitive, as reported by WSMV. Authorities said the U.S. Marshals assisted in the arrest near Stewarts Ferry Pike and Interstate 40 and that he was held at the Davidson County Detention Center while awaiting extradition on a Marion County murder warrant tied to the July 2023 killing.
How prosecutors say the plot unfolded
According to new court filings, Smith-Robinson agreed to pay a hired gunman $15,000 from his wife's life-insurance policy and stayed in contact with the shooter using burner phones. Prosecutors say Smith-Robinson and an unnamed woman sent Cash App payments to the alleged triggerman, including a $500 partial payment before the killing. Those allegations are laid out in court records and reported by FOX59.
Victim and civil case
Police say the victim, Erica Pedroza, was found shot inside her home on the 8600 block of Orchard Grove Lane on July 22, 2023. Her estate later filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Smith-Robinson in Marion County civil court, according to court listings. The civil docket is available on Trellis, and a public memorial that tracks gun violence victims lists Pedroza's July 22 death on Gun Memorial.
Legal status and what comes next
Smith-Robinson remains charged in Marion County and is scheduled for a bench trial on Aug. 13, 2026, before Judge James Osborn, according to court records. Investigators allege the out-of-state suspect identified in the filings, 33-year-old Dalvin Carter of Gould, Arkansas, was the person who pulled the trigger, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. Those details are laid out in filings and reported by FOX59.
