Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Shati Smith, 31, of Bellport, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of Murder in the Second Degree, and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, for fatally shooting 28-year-old Lee Houpe in June 2022.

“Shati Smith has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the cold and calculated murder of Lee Houpe,” said District Attorney Tierney . “Smith gunned down an unarmed man in broad daylight and then fled the state to avoid justice. Thanks to the swift work by law enforcement, he was captured, extradited, and ultimately convicted.”

The evidence at trial established that, on June 15, 2022, at approximately 1:45 p.m., the victim was standing in a fr

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