Ieshema Amor Smith pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault, a class three felony and domestic violence offense against his older brother, Adrain Smith on Sept. 13, 2024. A month later, on Oct. 16, a sentencing was held for his crimes. Ieshema Smith was not sentenced to any definitive jail time. 

As Ieshema Smith and his attorney, Zachary Stern, stood before the court at his sentencing, Smith’s brother, Adrian Smith, joined the sentencing virtually and spoke out about the incident. 

“We had a mental breakdown and it led to a certain situation where he felt like he had to defend himself and I had to defend myself. We didn’t mean to harm each other, we just had a mental breakdown,” Adrian Smith said.  

Adrian Smith had addressed the court at the pre-sentencing settlement conference as well on Sept. 13, according to court documents. He advocated for his brother and waived any potential conflict with the court. Ieshema Smith’s sentencing was no exception to the supportive brother. Although Adrian Smith didn’t explain what assault had taken place, he protected his brother’s cause. 

“Me and my brother argue, but he wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt me,” Adrian Smith said, “It was a misunderstanding. I was drinking beer and we had an argument.” 

Early in Adrian Smith's victim speech,he claimed that he and his brother “weren’t fighting” and later that there was no “physical” fight that took place. He explained how his brother had called an ambulance and he had called the police. After explaining that to the court, he said he still “didn’t know what was going on.”

Adrian Smith’s testimony ended with the statement, “It didn’t help that I was not on the right medicine.”

“He recently got diagnosed with schizophrenia and I can’t really go to my mom for assistance… I’m his only support,” Ieshema Smith said, after his brother’s testimony. 

Ieshema Smith explained how his brother was prescribed medicine, but hadn’t been taking the medication consistently. He decided to not intervene with his brother’s erratic consumption of the medication and just “let it rock,” figuring that it would be best for him to figure things out on his own. 

When the incident had happened, Ieshema Smith became bankrupt and was evicted from his apartment, he said. He decided to move in with Adrian Smith, whom he hadn’t talked to for “a while before the incident.” After his move, conflict arose. 

The story grew when Stern addressed the court, supporting Ieshema Smith’s freedom. 

“This is not a standard domestic violence relationship, this was a one-time thing,” Stern said.

Stern also mentioned that Ieshema Smith had served in the military for seven years and that his old commander reported that “he has done everything they have asked him to for years” and “there's never been any issue with him whatsoever.”

“The court does find that probation is warranted because you have no criminal history,” said Avelar, “But, clearly there are some issues that need to be addressed.” 

From the completion of a domestic violence offender treatment program to a no-contact policy with Adrian Smith, Avelar listed off restrictions Ieshema Smith will have to abide by. 

“If you violate the terms and conditions of probation and the state brings forward a petition to revoke your probation, you could be sentenced to the Department of Corrections from more than two years up to 8.75 years,” Avelar said. 

However, rather than the State of Arizona’s suggestion of four years probation and four months in prison, Ieshema Smith walked away with two years probation.