Steven Alexander Smith (Smith County Sheriff’s Office)
A 42-year-old man in Texas will spend the rest of his life behind bars after admitting to gunning down two dentists in a fit of rage two years ago. Smith Count District Court Judge Debby Gunter handed down a mandatory sentence of life in a state correctional facility without the possibility of parole to Steven Alexander Smith for the 2022 slayings of 75-year-old Dr. Jack E. Burroughs, Jr. and 59-year-old Dr. Blake G. Sinclair, authorities announced.
Smith, described as a “difficult patient” by the victims’ colleagues at Affordable Dentures & Implants, pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder of multiple persons on Monday, the same day his jury trial was scheduled to begin.
“The victims have waited a long time for this day. The defendant pled to capital murder and he will never be released from prison. We are thankful for the hard work of the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and prosecutors Noah Coltman and Zach Gilmore,” District Attorney Jacob Putman said in a statement following the sentencing hearing.
Prosecutors had already announced they would not seek the death penalty against Smith.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Smith on March 16, 2022, was at the clinic to have work done on his dentures when things took a grisly turn.
One of the nurses told investigators that Smith “was not happy with how they were doing the procedure” and repeatedly tried to tell the staff what to do. The nurse also noted that Smith had “always been a difficult patient.”
After hearing complaints from the nursing staff, Dr. Burroughs intervened and told Smith that he was “no longer going to be a patient of theirs” because of repeated problematic interactions with the staff, police wrote in an affidavit. An angry Smith then attempted to take back his dentures and pushed Dr. Burroughs to the floor, the nurse told police.
Smith exited the practice and went to his truck for a brief moment before turning around and “walking very fast” back toward the office. Drs. Burroughs and Sinclair tried to lock the door, but Smith forced his way inside, again knocking Burroughs to the floor. Dr. Sinclair attempted to grab the 230-pound Smith with a “bear hug” from behind and the two struggled briefly until Smith drew a handgun and shot both dentists multiple times.
“Numerous people” were inside the dental offices at the time of the shooting, the affidavit stated. Witnesses said Smith fired about five shots at the two doctors.
After shooting both men, Smith pointed the gun at a nurse and demanded she open the door that would give Smith access to the patient rooms. Police said that the nurse refused to unlock the door while pleading for her life. Smith then left the business without firing any additional shots.
Both Drs. Burroughs and Sinclair were transported to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
A witness at the scene provided police with Smith’s license plate number and a description of his vehicle. Deputies with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office took him into custody at his residence later that day. Investigators executing a search warrant at the home then discovered two handguns inside Smith’s home that matched the caliber used on the doctors.
