A collective wail was heard from the Jefferson County courtroom when District Judge Diego Hunt read the not guilty verdicts of a man who shot another man in the back twice, killing him.

Defendant Jeremy Smith walked out of the courtroom a free man after jurors found him not guilty of second-degree murder and reckless manslaughter Wednesday in the death of Adam Fresquez.

The mother of the slain man rushed out of the room, followed by a group of family members, who embraced her.

Smith, 41, told jurors he acted in self-defense after Fresquez, 33, rushed his car at an Edgewater Tesla charging station. 

Smith was arrested Dec. 12, 2023, in connection to the May 3, 2023 shooting death of Fresquez. After months of investigations, he was charged by the 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

A jury found him not guilty on both counts after more than four hours of deliberation Tuesday and Wednesday morning. 

Fresquez’s mother, Lena Fresquez-Mendez, shrieked and collapsed to the floor outside.

“I want my baby back,” she said. 

“To see this be the end result is painful,” said Joseph Silva, founder of the Silva Family Foundation nonprofit and victims’ advocate. Silva sat in on the trial after the family reached out to him toward the end of 2024.

He continued: “This family has been through heartbreak after heartbreak. This was the shattering moment.”

In a statement, the 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office insisted Smith did not act in self-defense. 

“From the beginning, we believed in this case and were compelled to present the evidence that contradicted the defendant’s self-defense claim,” said Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Rhoads. “The complexities surrounding self-defense claims are often best addressed by a jury, as it allows the community to uphold justice while evaluating individual actions against shared societal expectations. We thank the jury for their service throughout this important case.”

The trial began on Jan. 28 and quickly wrapped up in six days, with both the defense and prosecution bringing ballistic analysts and witnesses to the stand. Murder trials typically last longer.

The shooting, which likely stemmed from 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. 

Multiple witnesses claimed that both drivers were acting aggressively and brake checking each other, with one witness saying Fresquez was more aggressive. Smith also allegedly flipped Fresquez off before turning into the parking lot.

As both men parked at the charging station, Fresquez got out of his car abruptly and began walking toward Smith’s Tesla. 

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

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

Smith pepper sprayed Fresquez, who moved to the back of the vehicle. Smith then fired a handgun over his shoulder, hitting Fresquez in the back twice, according to testimony and evidence.

The trail’s outcome hinged on whether or not jurors believed the shooting was necessary and in self-defense. Both the prosecution and defense attorneys agreed that Fresquez was the aggressor, looking for a fight.

The prosecution argued that there was not enough of an imminent threat for Smith to shoot, with Fresquez reacting to the pepper spray and the gun later being found in his waistband by responders. That fact cast doubt on Smith’s story of Fresquez pointing the gun at him in the first place, the prosecution insisted. 

“Was the gun in his hand or in his waistband?” Rhoads asked during closing arguments on Tuesday. “Could he see him or was he in his blind spot?”

The defense argued that Smith was thinking in an instant, with Fresquez racking the gun in his face and being aggressive due to the fentanyl and cocaine later found in his pockets and in his system.

“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 the defense’s closing statements. “He tried talking, he tried freezing, he tried spraying pepper spray.”

The Fresquez family held rallies and attended Edgewater City Council meetings to put pressure on authorities to file charges.

“I’ve worked with a number of families regarding gun violence. I have never seen a family be so strong, so committed and so united in their fight,” Silva said. “His daughter is now going to have to go through life knowing that the person who is responsible for what happened is walking free.”

Neither Smith, nor his defense attorneys, could be reached for comment. The Public Defender’s Office has a standing policy not to talk to the media.