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Vance Major, 18, and Timothy Whitney, 19, were sentenced on Thursday, June 14 in Westchester County Court related to last year's killing of Joseph Smith III in a Greenburgh apartment building, according to Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr.
Whitney will serve two to four years in state prison for third-degree robbery, a class D felony, and one-and-a-half to three years for hindering prosecution, a class E felony. Both sentences are to run concurrently.
Vance Major will serve one year in Westchester County Jail for third-degree robbery and one year for hindering prosecution. Both sentences will run consecutively.
A third defendant, 16-year-old Trevon Major, was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter in Smith’s fatal shooting, as reported here by Daily Voice.
At about 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 17, 2017 in the parking lot of 100 Manhattan Ave., an apartment building where Vance Major lived, he and co-defendant Timothy Whitney allegedly robbed an unidentified individual -- stealing his neck chain and cellphone.
A short time later, in the vestibule area of that building, the robbery victim argued with Vance Major and Timothy Whitney about getting his property back.
Trevon Major, the 16-year-old brother of Vance, came downstairs from his apartment, joined the altercation and threatened the robbery victim with a gun.
The robbery victim’s mother came from her nearby apartment and pleaded with Trevon Major not to shoot her son. The robbery victim was able to leave the area and returned to his home in a neighboring building.
Moments later, Joseph Smith III, 46, the fiancé of the robbery victim’s mother, went to apartment 6K at 100 Manhattan Ave. (the home of Trevon and Vance Major). Smith knocked on the door. Trevon and Vance Major and Timothy Whitney were inside.
Trevon Major answered the door holding a gun and shot Smith once in the chest as Smith stood in the hallway. A neighbor heard the gunshot and called police.
Greenburgh police found a blood trail from the hallway outside the Major’s doorway to a nearby stairwell where they found Smith lying on the floor. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Trevon Major, Vance Major and Timothy Whitney remained inside the apartment until the police entered with a search warrant.
Before police arrived, all three defendants allegedly took the gun apart and hid the pieces throughout the apartment. One piece was found in a bag of frozen chicken in the freezer; one piece was found in the back of the refrigerator and one piece was found inside of an air conditioning unit, according to police.
The suspects also allegedly took the bullet that shot and killed Smith -- which exited through his chest -- and its shell casing, flushng them down the toilet, police said.
When Greenburgh police crime scene officers entered with a search warrant, they found the three hidden gun pieces.
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