Ieshia Smiley, 40, of Aberdeen, Maryland was convicted on April 18, 2023 of First Degree Assault, Second Degree Assault, and Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Assault following a two-day jury trial in the Circuit Court for Harford County. The case originated following a report of a stabbing that occurred in the Unit Block of N. Philadelphia Boulevard in Aberdeen, Maryland on October 27, 2022.
Evidence at trial before the Honorable Judge M. Elizabeth Bowen established that officers from the Aberdeen Police Department were dispatched to the Exxon at 7 N. Philadelphia Boulevard at approximately 5:38 p.m. Officers initially met with Smiley and a co-defendant who acknowledged being in a fight with the victim. Witnesses at trial testified that Smiley and the co-defendant approached the victim as she was leaving the Exxon and confronted the victim about $10. Smiley and the co-defendant then began to attack the victim using a knife and, what were believed to be, brass knuckles. The victim was believed to be stabbed in the head two times suffering lacerations to her head, a contusion to her forehead, and the loss of three teeth.
A portion of the incident was captured on Exxon’s video surveillance system and was introduced at trial. Three knives were recovered at the scene, with one being located near Smiley and the co-defendant, which had a strand of hair on it that was the same color as the victim’s.
Smiley is being held without bail pending sentencing. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 26, 2023. Smiley faces up to twenty five years of incarceration for First Degree Assault and twenty five years of incarceration for Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Assault. The Second Degree Assault conviction will merge into First Degree Assault for purposes of sentencing. Smiley also faces a Violation of Probation for an unrelated First Degree Assault.
State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey said after the jury’s verdict: “The permanent injuries the victim sustained during this violent crime are deplorable, and in Harford County, we will not tolerate injuries of any kind being perpetrated upon our citizens, and especially not injuries of this magnitude. My office continues to demonstrate that we are aggressively pursuing violent offenders to remove them from our community. I commend the victim in this case for her courage to stand up against a Defendant who committed a horrific crime against her by providing compelling testimony that was supported by the independent evidence, resulting in this significant verdict.”
Ms. Healey thanks Deputy State’s Attorney David W. Ryden for his hard work and pursuit of justice for the victim in this case. In addition, she thanks Officer Epps, Corporal Hoffman, and Detective Soto from the Aberdeen Police Department for rapidly responding to render aid to the victim and for securing evidence during their investigation leading to Smiley’s arrest and conviction.