Insets from left: Images of Franklin Radell Smoak Jr. and Terrance Fields. Background: The vehicle riddled with bullets by Smoak, resulting in Fields’ death in Hampton County, S.C. (14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office).
A man from South Carolina has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after he mistakenly targeted and fired at a car, taking a life in a case of mistaken identity. Believing the vehicle carried someone connected to his cousin’s death, Franklin Radell Smoak Jr. actually hit a group of friends simply driving around.
At the age of 27, Smoak was handed down a 30-year prison sentence after admitting to the murder of 32-year-old Terrance Fields in Hampton County, according to a statement from the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
In addition to the murder charge, Smoak received another 30-year sentence for two attempted murder counts, stemming from shots fired at two other passengers in the vehicle. These sentences will be served at the same time.
Reed Evans, the prosecutor from the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, commented on the severity of the incident: “These charges underscore the significant threat posed by Smoak’s behavior. Tragically, this case of mistaken identity led to Terrance Fields losing his life. The assault along Highway 68 involved a barrage of bullets that not only claimed Fields’ life but also left another passenger severely injured.”
The defendant was driving on State Highway 68 on July 31, 2023, when he spotted a white sedan.
He thought the driver was the person responsible for killing his cousin, 18-year-old Kaleb Cave, about three months prior as the suspect had a similar car. Smoak turned off his headlights and crept up to the other car. He opened fire.
At least 14 shots hit the car. Fields was hit in the chest and died at the scene. His front-seat passenger was gravely wounded with a gunshot to the head, prosecutors said. A man in the back seat was not hit but witnessed the shooting.
But Fields had nothing to do with Smoak’s cousin’s death. He was simply out for a ride with his buddies who were on their way to a Love’s travel stop.
The press release did not say if anyone had been arrested in Cave’s homicide. It was unsolved as of July 2025.
The post Man seeking revenge for cousin’s death blasts ‘rain of bullets’ into car he thought held the suspect but ended up killing driver out for a ride first appeared on Law & Crime.