Murder by mob charge reduced to assault in Sweet 16 case

One of the men charged with murder by mob following a Sweet 16 party in Caroline County pleaded guilty today to a misdemeanor.

Dwight Leo Smith II, 20, pleaded guilty to assault by mob and was sentenced to 12 months in prison with all time suspended.

Smith was part of a group of nine who went together in a van to the parking lot of the Madison Ruritan Club in November 2007, where a Sweet 16 party was ending.

Evidence showed the other eight men were looking for another group of teens to start a fight with. The fight eventually ended in the murder of 16-year-old Raquel Hunter.

"Dwight Smith was the only one who was in the van that we couldn’t prove went there to fight," said Commonwealth’s Attorney Tony Spencer. "Most of what we can figure is that he went there to meet some girls."

Smith, who spoke to The Free Lance-Star after court, said he knew he was innocent.

"I got in the van because I needed a ride home," he said. "And it just happened. I was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

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