Grand jury declines to indict man in fatal shooting over door ding in truck

A Tarrant County grand jury has declined to indict a Tarrant County man in the fatal shooting of another man in a Kroger parking lot in January.

Grand jurors reached their decision last week on Bryan Valadez, who was accused of killing Sam Smith on Jan. 16 after a dispute in the parking lot. Valadez was no-billed on a murder charge.

Smith died from multiple gunshot wounds in a confrontation with Valadez, authorities said.

Bedford police said the shooting happened shortly after 5 p.m. at the Kroger store, 2109 Harwood Road. Valadez and Smith were discussing damage to the suspect’s car door, reportedly done by Smith, when the conversation went bad, police said in a news release.

Smith and Valadez argued over a door ding to Valadez’s truck, according to Bedford police. Valadez, who was in the driver’s seat of his truck, misinterpreted a sudden movement by Smith as reaching behind his back for a firearm.

Valadez later told police he and Smith both made threats about having guns, but police discovered later that Smith did not have one.

A licensed handgun carrier, Valadez grabbed the pistol beside him and through the rolled-down window pulled the trigger — more than once, Bedford police said.

Smith was a 28-year-old husband and father of a young daughter. His second child was born just after his death.

“I know my nephew,” Jimmy Wood of Northlake, Smith’s uncle, told the Star-Telegram in an interview this summer. “He’s not going to say he’s got a gun if he don’t have a gun. He will whip your a-- real quick though, and he won’t stop until you’re on the ground and say you’ve had enough.”

Bedford police gave the case to the Tarrant County district attorney’s office, which presented it to the grand jury.

This story was originally published August 15, 2017 at 9:49 AM with the headline "Grand jury declines to indict man in fatal shooting over door ding in truck."