Both prosecutors and defense attorneys gave their closing arguments Tuesday afternoon in a packed Jefferson County courtroom, leading to jury deliberation in the murder trial of Jeremy Smith.

Smith, 40, was arrested Dec. 12, 2023, in connection to the May 3, 2023, shooting death of 33-year-old Adam Fresquez. He was eventually charged with second-degree murder and reckless manslaughter, both felonies, by the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

The suspect pleaded not guilty in September 2024. 

Defense attorneys said the shooting was an act of self-defense.

“Over the next 45 seconds, Jeremy Smith had to figure out how he was going to survive. No one warned him Adam Fresquez was going to approach him with a gun,” Nathan Smith, one of Smith’s defense attorneys, said at the beginning of the closing statement. “He tried talking, he tried freezing, he tried spraying pepper spray.”

The shooting, which was thought to be a road-rage incident, happened around 9:30 a.m. May 3, 2023, near the Tesla supercharger station at the Edgewater Public Market on 20th Avenue. 

Smith was working as an Uber driver during the incident. Multiple witnesses claimed that both drivers were acting aggressively, with one witness saying Fresquez was more aggressive.

Security camera footage showed Smith heading into the Edgewater Public Market parking lot with Fresquez following, eventually whipping in front of Smith’s car and parking haphazardly in a spot. 

Smith then pulled into his spot carefully — a fact the defense used to claim that Smith was just stopping to charge his car, not to begin an altercation.

Fresquez began walking toward Smith’s Tesla. After a minute, Fresquez was seen stumbling and Smith pulled out of the parking space and headed east.

The argument between prosecutors and the defense centered around the moments leading up to the shooting — there within lying the truth of whether or not Smith acted out of self-defense when shooting Fresquez two times in the back.

“This was an avoidable tragedy with poor decisions made throughout the entire process,” prosecutor Stephen Scheffel said. “Again, we need to bring it back into that moment and determine in that moment whether it was reasonable self-defense for Mr. Smith to shoot Mr. Fresquez.”

Both Smith, who took to the witness stand earlier in the trial, and his defense attorneys claimed that Fresquez approached the vehicle with a 9mm handgun drawn, even racking it.

A 9mm bullet found on the ground and other witnesses corroborated this, according to the defense.

Smith then held his own handgun, in which Fresquez responded, “You’re shaking. You’re not going to use that,” according to the defense.

Smith then pepper sprayed Fresquez on the arm and side, with Fresquez moving toward the back of the car. Smith then fired backward multiple times, hitting the victim twice.

Prosecutors argued that the story was filled with inaccuracies.

While prosecutors agreed that Fresquez was the aggressor and was looking for a fight, the argument of him holding his gun and racking it at Smith has holes, with the gun being reportedly found in Fresquez’s waistband after he was shot and bullets entering Fresquez’s back.

“Repeatedly through his statements (Smith) said, ‘I missed, so I fired again.’ That is murder,” prosecutor Jennifer Rhoades said.

“Was the gun in his hand or in his waistband?” Rhoades asked. “Could he see him or was he in his blindspot?”

The prosecutors also argued that the bullet on the ground could have fallen out of Fresquez’s gun or his pocket during the scuffle.

“The Mace worked. Adam stepped away. He used a lesser-degree of force to neutralize the situation and then chose to shoot him in the back twice,” Scheffel said.

Members of Fresquez’s family trembled as photos were shown of Fresquez’s injuries, some leaving the courtroom hastily.

“There was not a bullet found in his pocket, but there was fentanyl,” Nathan Smith retorted. “There were no traces of pepper spray on his face, but there were traces of cocaine.”

Cocaine and fentanyl were found in both Fresquez’s pocket and system following the shooting, but prosecutors argued that the detail should make no difference on whether or not Smith acted in self-defense.

“Maybe some people have ice in their veins when a gun is pointed in their face, but most everyday people do not,” Nathan Smith concluded.

The jury began deliberating around 3 p.m., with a verdict likely coming Wednesday morning.