A 31-year-old man from West Pullman drove to a car wash immediately after fatally shooting Verndell “Vee” Smith II, a dance coach who was vocal about ending gun violence, a Cook County prosecutor said Friday.
Diontay Kimberly was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count of first-degree murder, according to Chicago police. Kimberly was identified as the person who fatally shot Smith multiple times at a Dunkin’, 7450 S. King Dr., on the morning of May 19.
Kimberly was ordered held without bond on Friday by Cook County Judge Mary Marubio.
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Smith, 32, was shot after placing an order at the Dunkin’ in Park Manor, according to police.
Smith was talking on his phone outside the Dunkin’ when video footage showed a man in a silver Dodge Journey pull up in front of Smith and the arm of the driver is seen out the window firing at Smith, the prosecutor said.
Paramedics took Smith to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Police tracked the Journey from the Dunkin’ to the Buddy Bear Car Wash, which had video that showed the face of the driver, who police identified as Kimberly. His girlfriend, who the Journey is registered to, was seen in the passenger side of the car in the car wash video, the prosecutor said.
On Sept. 7, Chicago police officers saw Kimberly get in the Journey and followed him attempting to stop him for traffic violations but Kimberly fled the scene, the prosecutor said.
On Sept. 8, police learned the Journey had been towed by Evergreen Park Police for fleeing and eluding, the prosecutor said. Chicago police detained Kimberly at the Evergreen Park police station Sept. 15 when he and his girlfriend were trying to pick up the towed vehicle, the prosecutor said.
Police also tracked Kimberly’s location using cell phone activity the morning of the shooting and learned that he was at his girlfriend’s house around 8:20 a.m. and was at the Will County Courthouse at 9:20 a.m. Kimberly “appeared in person at the Will County courthouse” just before 10:10 a.m., the prosecutor said.
The Journey was then tracked using license plate readers to the Dunkin’ at the time of the shooting, about 11:20 a.m., the prosecutor said.
Kimberly has a pending “unlawful use of a weapon” charge for which he was out on $100,000 bond. His next court date for that charge is March 2.
Smith was the artistic director at Ultimate Threat Dance Org. in Park Manor and the founder of the Ultimate Threat Dance Org. team. Smith formed the dance school in 2010.
The New Jersey-born dancer moved to Chicago with his family when he was 6, according to the Yelp page for the studio. He attended Harlan Community Academy High School and Olive-Harvey College, according to Facebook.
He worked to stop gun violence in the city by teaching youth the ins and outs of hip-hop, Chicago-style footwork and majorette.
Kimberly is due back in court on Feb. 18, court records show.