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Man Charged in Bushwick Anti-Gay Shooting Left Jail Less Than a Month Ago

By Serena Dai | September 29, 2014 5:39pm
 Matthew Smith allegedly shot a man, 22, in the buttocks on Broadway near Putnam Avenue after yelling anti-gay slurs on Saturday morning.
Matthew Smith allegedly shot a man, 22, in the buttocks on Broadway near Putnam Avenue after yelling anti-gay slurs on Saturday morning.
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DNAinfo/Serena Dai

BUSHWICK — A Bushwick man charged in Saturday's anti-gay hate crime shooting was released from jail for other crimes less than a month ago — including a domestic violence incident where he pleaded guilty to strangling a woman, according to records.

Matthew Smith, 21, was charged with attempted murder in a hate crime this weekend after shooting a man, 22, in the buttocks while yelling anti-gay obscenities, calling him and two others "tranny" and "f---ots," according to police and court documents.

The victim and two cohorts wore women's clothing at the time of the incident, around 7 a.m. Saturday morning on Broadway near Putnam Avenue, police said.

The victim survived and was released from Brookdale University Hospital, the hospital said.

Smith had been out of jail for less than a month when the shooting happened, according to records and the Department of Corrections.

The Bushwick man pleaded guilty to strangling a woman in a domestic violence incident that happened last December, causing the woman's face to swell, records show.

He was in jail from May 21 to Sept. 3 and is expected to be sentenced for the crime next Thursday, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

The grand jury also dismissed a robbery charge, pending a new grand jury, at a court appearance on Sept 3., records show.

Smith has 16 prior arrests total, according to police, and has been in and out of the city's incarceration system since December 2012.

Smith was also charged with firing off his gun in the area the night before the anti-gay shooting, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

Officials charged him with menacing in the second and third degree for firing multiple shots on Putnam Avenue between Bushwick Avenue and Broadway Friday night at 8:10 p.m., which is the same block as Smith's home.

He is currently being held without bail.

Smith was accompanied by two other men during Saturday morning's incident — Cody Sigue, 22, and Tavon Johnson, 17, according to police.

Sigue and Johnson were charged with menacing as a hate crime and aggravated harrasment. Both had two prior arrests.

Smith's attorney did not respond to request for comment.

A man who identified himself as Smith's brother told DNAinfo New York Monday that he was shocked to hear the allegations about his brother.

Smith grew up in Bushwick with five brothers and "is not a violent person," the man said.

"He wouldn't do nothing that stupid," he said.