Last defendants sentenced for botched Lakewood drug hit

The last of the men charged in a botched Lakewood drug hit in 2012 have been sentenced.

Robert Leon Smith Jr., 37, is one of seven people convicted in connection to the shooting of Jaime Diaz-Solis.

Smith pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree manslaughter and residential burglary. Pierce County Superior Court Judge Frank Cuthbertson sentenced him to a low-end term of seven years, three months in prison.

Prosecutors argued Smith was part of a group that planned to kill a rival drug dealer, but the hit went sideways, and they killed the rival’s cousin and roommate, 32-year-old Diaz-Solis, at his apartment.

The man who fired the gun, Mazzar Robinson, was convicted and sentenced to life without parole last year.

At Smith’s sentencing Friday, his family wrote the court that he has a strong support system waiting for him when he’s released.

“He has learned and is ready to make a positive return home,” wrote his sister, Daytona Smith.

Several corrections officers who oversaw Smith at the Puyallup City Jail as he awaited trial also wrote letters on his behalf.

They said he was a hard worker at the jail, where he helped with ordering supplies and other tasks. They said they’d overheard him counseling other inmates to make good life choices.

Also sentenced this month for Diaz-Solis’ death was 32-year-old Jiffary Mendez. He pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and attempted first-degree robbery, and Cuthbertson sentenced him to nine years.

This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 5:20 PM with the headline "Last defendants sentenced for botched Lakewood drug hit."