Sen. Smith said firing shots stupidest thing in his life

State Sen. Virgil K. Smith, suspected of firing numerous shots at his ex-wife's car early Sunday, told investigators it was the stupidest thing he had done in his life, according to police.

The incident occurred after the Detroit Democrat's ex-wife pushed her way into the house and attempted to attack another woman who was in Smith's bed, according to police. Smith told police she threw a chair at the windows of his house and he shot at her car.

The criminal case against Smith, who was arrested and is being held at the Detroit Detention Center, was sent back to Detroit police for additional investigation, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said today Monday.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Smith was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault with a gun and malicious destruction of property following the incident outside of his east side Detroit home at about 1 a.m. Sunday.

According to the police sources, the shots were fired at a Mercedes-Benz belonging to Smith's ex-wife, who was not injured. She has not been named by police.

Smith told police the woman came to the house in the 18600 block of Wexford and was banging on his bedroom window. When Smith opened the door, she kicked it, pushed past him and went to the bedroom, saw another woman in his bed and attempted to attack her, according to police.

Smith told police he grabbed the woman and they fell backward, knocking over a television. He told her to leave his house and he went to the bedroom to check on the other woman, according to police.

When he went to the front door, according to police, Smith saw the woman throwing a chair at his house windows.

Then, he told police, he shot the woman's vehicle.

Craig said todayMonday that 10 shots hit the car.

Officers executed a search warrant on Smith's home, where they recovered a rifle, a .22-caliber rifle cleaning kit, three magazines with live rounds and one empty one, according to police.

Smith remained in police custody Monday evening, said June West, a spokeswoman for the Detroit Police Department. The Free Press left messages for Smith's attorney, Godfrey Dillard, but he could not be reached for comment.

West declined to provide additional details about the case.

"I can't comment on any of the specifics," West said.

Craig previously said: "We have not treated this case any differently than others that involve domestic violence."

Smith, a Democrat, represents Senate District 4, which includes portions of Detroit, Allen Park, Lincoln Park and Southgate

Democrats today expressed both concern and outrage over the allegations against Smith.

"We are deeply troubled by these allegations. As details of the situation become clearer, we will take appropriate action," said Angela Wittrock, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint.

The liberal activist group Progress Michigan went a step further, calling for Smith's resignation.

"If these allegations against the Senator are true, he should resign immediately," said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. "The right to due process is an important value shared by progressives and while the Senator is innocent until proven guilty, these extremely troubling allegations and legal proceedings will make it difficult at best for him to represent his constituents."

Smith, a graduate of Michigan State and Western Michigan universities, was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2002. He was elected to the Senate in 2010. His father, Virgil Smith Jr., is presiding judge in Wayne County Family Juvenile Court and served more than 20 years in the Legislature.

Smith is a key ally for Mayor Mike Duggan in his proposed plan to get cheaper insurance rates for Detroiters. When the mayor announced the plan on April 30, Smith promised to introduce what he called the D-Insurance bill, and he said he was confident he'd be able to win approval in both chambers of the Legislature.

Duggan declined to discuss the matter today at a news conference in southwest Detroit where he and Gov. Rick Snyder announced the creation of hundreds of jobs in manufacturing and training at the former Southwestern High School. The mayor said that in his previous role as a Wayne County prosecutor he didn't appreciate public officials commenting on cases before charging decisions were made, and he would afford current Prosecutor Kym Worthy the same respect.

Nor did Duggan respond to a question about whether the arrest of the senator would impact Duggan's efforts to win the Legislature's approval of D-Insurance, the mayor's initiative to lower auto insurance rates for Detroiters by allowing them to opt out of unlimited personal injury benefits in exchange for what Duggan said could be a $1,000 break off the average $3,400 annual insurance premium for city drivers.

Gov. Rick Snyder also declined to discuss the incident, saying, "That's in the criminal justice system, and that will go through the normal due-process."

Smith has backed the mayor's proposal, while several members of the delegation of state lawmakers representing Detroit have been critical of it, questioning whether it amounts to second-class insurance for Detroiters who pay some of the highest insurance rates in the nation.

Former Attorney General Mike Cox said Monday that the crimes Smith is accused of don't fit with that ballot proposal approved by voters in 2010 that prohibits people from holding state elective office if they were convicted of a felony that involved "dishonesty, deceit, fraud or a breach of the public trust."

"That wouldn't have anything to do with him holding public office," Cox said. "Traditionally, it's misconduct in public office or embezzlement or something like that."

Michigan senators do have the ability to expel a fellow member from the Senate, but it's been done only once, when Macomb County Republican Sen. David Jaye was expelled from office after being arrested on a domestic violence complaint and convicted of three drunken-driving offenses. A Senate panel held a hearing on Jaye's expulsion in 2001, recommended that he be expelled and the full Senate agreed.

"This is a matter for the police to deal with at this point," said Amber McCann, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive. "If the Senate needs to take action, that will be a discussion for a later time."

This isn't Smith's first run-in with law enforcement, He was convicted twice in 2004 of drinking and driving — first in February of operating a vehicle while impaired by liquor in Lansing and in August of operating while intoxicated offense in Chelsea. His license was revoked because he had two or more drunken-driving convictions within seven years, according to the Michigan Department of State.

Smith appealed his revocation in 2007 and was issued a restricted license; in December 2008 he regained full driving privileges and has had a few minor traffic violations since then. He now has zero points on his driving record, according to the state.

Prior to that, while in college, Smith was arrested twice in two shoplifting-related cases. In February 2002, when Smith was in his early 20s, he dropped a philosophy book down his pants at the Student Book Store in East Lansing, according to police records. He was caught while leaving the store and handed the book back but gave police a false name and birth date, according to the report. He was arrested on disorderly conduct and presenting a false identification, later sentenced to a $250 fine and probation.

Before that incident, he'd been arrested in July 2001 while trying to flee a Meijer store in Okemos with a bottle of tequila, hiding the bottle in his sweatpants. He pleaded guilty in that case to retail fraud, according to previous reports.

Free Press staff reporters Elisha Anderson, Kathleen Gray, Matt Helms and Tresa Baldas contributed to this report.

Contact Gina Damron: 313-223-4526 or gdamron@freepress.com