Ten years ago, on Halloween night, two brothers were shot to death inside their own home on Hays Drive in Sanford. The killings of Joseph Smith, 27, and Roland Deloatch happened at approximately 8:54 p.m. on October 31, 2016, and nobody has ever been arrested. The tenth anniversary fell on Saturday.
A Decade Without Answers
The case remains unsolved. The Sanford Police Department has asked community members with information to come forward. Investigators say they have followed numerous leads and analyzed evidence over the years, but the department has not announced an arrest or a named suspect.
Early coverage of the case offered a few more details about that night. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the brothers were shot and killed by an armed, masked intruder, and their mother was also home at the time but was not injured. That same report noted that Sanford police had made no arrests in the killings as of early November 2016 and were already asking the public to come forward with information.
Conflicting Details Over the Years
Some basic facts about the case have varied between sources. The police department's seed facts for Saturday's post list Deloatch's age as 44 at the time he was fatally shot, while the Orlando Sentinel's 2016 report identified him as 41. Hoodline could not independently verify which figure is accurate.
Reward amounts reported for the case have varied: one figure is up to $15,000 for tips leading to a solution, while another is up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest. The current reward amount is unclear.
A Prior Person of Interest, Later Cleared
The case has had at least one twist in the years since the shooting. A 2017 report from clickorlando.com said police had identified a man named Dante James as a person of interest, but investigators determined he was not the shooter based on evidence, while continuing to describe him as a person of interest. Smith and Deloatch were shot and killed in front of their mother during a home invasion.
How to Submit a Tip
Anyone with information about the killings is asked to contact Central Florida Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477) or through www.crimeline.org, where calls remain anonymous. Sanford Police can also be reached directly at (407) 688-5070. A decade after Joseph Smith and Roland Deloatch were killed on Halloween night, their case remains open, and investigators say any new tip could still make a difference.
