Naman Shrestha
In the spring of 2019, in Alabama, the musical commotion in a sports bar turned into a violent confrontation. It resulted in the unexpected death of a 42-year-old man named Tito Smith. In the hours that followed, the detectives followed up on clues and evidence found at the crime scene, leading to the identity of a suspect. All the intricate details of the case and the investigation that ensued are explored extensively in the episode titled ‘The Break’ of A&E’s ‘After the First 48,’ which features exclusive interviews with Tito’s loved ones and the officials who worked hard to solve the homicide.
Tito Smith Was Killed at a Local Sports Bar in Mobile, Alabama
Born in the late 1970s to Dorothy Mitchell, Tito Smith was a resident of Mobile, Alabama, where he led a private and content life. Described as a compassionate and sociable individual, he had the ability to light up even the dullest of rooms with his mere presence. Thus, when he met his untimely demise in 2019, his family and friends were devastated. What seemed to be just another night out for him on April 4, 2019, at the Phat Tuesday Sports Bar turned out to be his last. Around 1:30 am on April 5, the police were called to the local sports bar at 1608 St. Stephens Road, where they found 42-year-old Tito Smith dead inside the establishment. The autopsy determined that the cause of his death was a fatal gunshot wound. Consequently, a homicide investigation was immediately launched to get to the bottom of the case.
Tito Smith’s Killer Fled to Georgia After the Murder
As part of the investigation, the detectives dug deeper into the life of Tito Smith and the circumstances under which he died at the Phat Tuesday Sports Bar. Not long after, the investigators linked a man named Demetrius “Dirk” James Anderson to the crime and identified him as the suspect. It turned out that he had been previously convicted of shooting a man in Clayton County and had been arrested for robbing a woman at gunpoint in Fulton County. However, it is imperative to note that court records suggest he was never convicted of the latter charge.
The police obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect, released his photograph to the public, and asked for help in locating him. Three months later, on July 24, 2019, Demetrius was finally tracked down to a residence in Decatur, Georgia, where he was apprehended by US Marshals around 3:30 pm. After serving more than a year in jail in Georgia, he was extradited to Mobile, Alabama, where he was booked into the Mobile County Metro Jail in November 2020.
Demetrius “Dirk” Anderson is Currently Incarcerated at an Alabama Prison
A couple of years after his arrest, Demetrius “Dirky” James Anderson was convicted of Tito Smith’s April 2019 homicide in Mobile, Alabama. As per reports, in February 2023, the killer was sentenced to life in prison for taking the life of the 42-year-old man at the sports bar. As of today, at the age of about 40 or 41, Demetrius is serving his sentence at the Staton Correctional Facility in Elmore, Alabama, with his parole consideration date scheduled for December 2034.
