Man who killed Mya Patel sentenced to 100 years in prison
On Thursday, the Caddo Parish District Attorney's Office announced that a Shreveport man has been sentenced to 100 years of hard labor for the death of a 5-year-old girl.
Joseph Lee Smith, 35, was sentenced following his conviction in January of the killing of Mya Patel who was playing in a room at the hotel her parents owned on March 20, 2021.
Smith was sentenced to 60 years at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or reduction of sentence in connection to the killing of Patel. He will also serve 20 years for obstruction of justice and 20 years for aggravated battery, for separate convictions associated with the Patel's death.
The DA's office said in the press release that "the terms were enhanced by Smith being a repeat felony offender and must be served consecutively, for the total of 100 years."
On March 20, Patel was playing in a hotel room in the 4900 block of Monkhouse Drive when a bullet entered her room and struck her in the head. Patel was rushed to Ochsner LSU Health, where she battled for three days and was pronounced dead on March 23.
During Smith's trial, it was revealed to the jury that on March 20, Smith got into an altercation with another man in the parking lot of the Super 8 Motel.
The hotel was owned and operated at that time by Vimal and Snehal Patel, who lived in a ground-floor unit with Mya and a younger sibling.
During the altercation, Smith struck the other man with a 9-mm handgun, which discharged. The bullet missed the other man but went into the hotel room and struck Patel in the head before grazing her mother.
More: Shreveport man found guilty for the slaying of 5-year-old
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Man who killed Mya Patel will serve 100 years in prison
