Photo:Mobile County Metro Jail
A man who fled to Arkansas after a 2020 shooting in Mobile, Alabama, pleaded guilty to murder Monday as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Ryan Timothy Smith, 34, of Mobile, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after Mobile County Circuit Judge Jay York accepted the prosecution’s recommendation. The judge also dismissed charges of tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse as part of the agreement.
Smith said little during Monday’s hearing beyond acknowledging that he understood his rights. In November 2020, after being returned to Mobile from Arkansas, Smith told reporters, “I’m innocent.” When asked why he had gone to Arkansas, he replied, “To sober up.”
The victim, Derek Hase, had been missing since September 2020. A tip received toward the end of October led investigators to a location in Theodore near Dog River, where authorities found Hase’s body buried on Rock Point Road.
Authorities said Smith later robbed people he was staying with in Pocahontas, Arkansas, after telling them he had shot a man in the face in Mobile. Arkansas authorities arrested him following a high-speed chase.
Defense attorney Christine Hernandez said the case had remained pending for years in part because several prosecutors had been assigned to it. She said the defense and prosecution had spent time reviewing witnesses and evidence before reaching what Smith considered a fair resolution.
Smith was taken into custody by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office immediately following Monday’s plea. Judge York ruled Smith will receive credit for nearly three years he spent incarcerated in Arkansas and at the Mobile County Metro Jail.
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