A South Carolina man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after prosecutors said he opened fire on the wrong car while trying to get revenge for his cousin’s death, killing an innocent man who had nothing to do with the case.
Franklin Radell Smoak Jr., 27, pleaded guilty to murder in the death of 32-year-old Terrance Fields, according to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Smoak also pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder for shooting at two other men who were riding in the car with Fields.
He received 30-year sentences on the charges, which will run at the same time.
Prosecutors described the shooting as a deadly case of mistaken identity.
“This was a tragic case of mistaken identity, and it cost Terrance Fields his life,” prosecutor Reed Evans said.
The shooting happened on July 31, 2023, along State Highway 68 in Hampton County.
According to prosecutors, Smoak spotted a white sedan and mistakenly believed the driver was responsible for killing his 18-year-old cousin, Kaleb Cave, about three months earlier.
The vehicle apparently looked similar to one associated with the person Smoak suspected.
Instead of confirming who was inside, prosecutors said Smoak turned off his headlights, crept up behind the sedan and unleashed a barrage of gunfire.
At least 14 bullets struck the car.
Fields was shot in the chest and died at the scene.
A passenger sitting in the front seat was shot in the head and suffered serious injuries, prosecutors said.
Another man riding in the back seat was not struck but witnessed the terrifying attack.
None of the men had anything to do with Cave’s death.
Fields and his friends were simply out driving and were headed to a Love’s Travel Stop when the gunfire erupted.
“These charges reflect the extreme danger posed by the defendants’ actions,” Evans said. “The attack on Highway 68 unleashed a rain of bullets on Fields’ car, killing him and gravely wounding another passenger.”
The shooting left one man dead, another badly injured and Smoak facing decades behind bars over a revenge attack aimed at the wrong people.
As of July 2025, Cave’s killing remained unsolved, and prosecutors did not say whether anyone had since been arrested in that case.
