November 17, 2020
Note: This press release includes a photo provided to the District Attorney’s Office of Dominick Smith with family permission to distribute.
PORTLAND, Ore. – Today, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced that 25-year-old Shalondre Adams received a 19 year prison sentence for causing the death of 12-month-old Dominick Smith.
By pleading guilty to one count of assault in the first degree and one count of manslaughter in the first degree Adams admitted that he assaulted Dominick, which resulted in serious physical injuries and death under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.
This investigation started on September 21, 2017 when paramedics and firefighters received information about a child not breathing at a residence in the 400 block of Southeast 169th Avenue in Gresham, Oregon.
The investigation revealed that Adams was in a relationship with Dominick’s mother at the time of his death. In the weeks leading up to Dominick’s death, Adams had become a primary caretaker for the victim while his mother worked outside the home.
Adams’ motive to assaulting Dominick remains unknown.
“This is a sad day for everyone involved in this case,” said Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Amanda Nadell. “The grief and trauma from Dominick’s death will last forever. On the morning of Dominick’s death, Mr. Adams was the sole caretaker responsible for Dominick. The medical experts in this case concluded that Dominick was the victim of a violent assault that resulted in extensive blunt force trauma injuries. Dominick’s life was unnecessarily and unjustifiably taken. While no outcome in the justice system will ever bring him back to his family, it is our hope that the family can find some peace through Mr. Adams taking responsibility for his actions.”
It was through the coordination, communication and collaboration of the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office Multidisciplinary Child Abuse Team that this case was investigated and prosecuted.
The Multidisciplinary Child Abuse Team includes representatives from CARES Northwest, local law enforcement, public schools, hospitals, health departments, local mental health service providers, the Oregon Department of Human Services, and Multnomah County’s Department of Community Justice.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Multidisciplinary Child Abuse Team works with community partners to protect children who have been abused and neglected while ensuring that all practices are trauma-informed and mitigate the life-long consequences of child abuse. The team also handles child homicides, felony child physical abuse cases, felony child abandonment cases, custodial interference cases, and felony sex crimes where the victim is currently under the age of 18 and where the suspect is determined not to be a stranger to the child.
CARES Northwest, Multnomah County’s child abuse assessment center, is a community-based medical program for the assessment, treatment and prevention of child abuse. The organization is one of the largest child abuse assessment centers in the nation and serves more than 5,000 children annually.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office recognizes the Gresham Police Department, the Multnomah County Multidisciplinary Child Abuse Team and the East Multnomah County Major Crimes Team for their dedicated efforts investigating this case.
The East Multnomah County Major Crimes Team consists of representatives from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, the Gresham Police Department, the Oregon State Police and the Port of Portland Police Department.
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Media Contact:
Brent Weisberg, Communications Director
Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office
Email: Brent.Weisberg@mcda.us