By Tiffany Williams –
A Crown Heights man will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering a Georgia man who traveled to New York to sell him high-end sneakers worth thousands of dollars, stealing the shoes and later setting fire to the vehicle containing the victim’s remains.
Hakeem Smith, 31, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, was sentenced by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Hecht to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Smith was convicted of first-degree murder and third-degree arson on August 25, 2026, following a jury trial.
The killing dates back to February 6, 2020, when Douglas Young flew from Georgia to New York to complete a high-end sneaker transaction with Smith. The two men knew each other and had conducted similar business in the past.
Young and Smith were originally supposed to meet near Barclays Center. Smith instead changed the meeting location to a remote area of Red Hook near 621 Court Street, where Young arrived in a rental vehicle and showed Smith the sneakers.
According to the evidence, Smith shot Young three times in the head while Young was sitting in the front passenger seat, killing him. Smith then took the 10 pairs of sneakers he had been expected to purchase and left the area.
The stolen sneakers had a combined resale value of $25,000. They included Nike Air Yeezy 2 Solar Red, Nike Air Force 1 Low Off-White MCA University Blue, Nike Air Force 1 Low VLONE, Nike Dunk SB Low What the Dunk, Jordan 1 Retro High Travis Scott, Jordan 1 Retro Fragment Friends, Family, Jordan 1 Retro High Off-White Euro and Jordan 1 Retro High Off-White Chicago sneakers.
Two days after the murder, Smith returned to the scene where Young’s body remained inside the vehicle, according to the evidence. Smith then set the car on fire.
But investigators also uncovered another part of the attempted cover-up. The day after Young was killed, as his family desperately tried to locate him, Smith offered to help them by filing a missing person report.
Smith told Young’s relatives and detectives investigating the disappearance that he and Young had met near Barclays Center, that their sneaker transaction never happened and that he had watched Young drive away to meet somebody else.
The investigation ultimately led back to Smith. Following an extensive investigation, he was arrested on September 11, 2020.
Nearly six years after Douglas Young traveled from Georgia to New York for what was supposed to be a sneaker sale, a Brooklyn jury convicted Smith of first-degree murder and third-degree arson. The sentence imposed by Justice Hecht means Smith will remain behind bars for the rest of his life, with no possibility of parole.