Testimony: Homeowner shot twice in botched robbery

VICTORVILLE • A homeowner said he had been shot twice before he fired back against intruders in a botched robbery, investigators testified at Victorville court Tuesday.

On Jan. 20, Jaysen James Smith, David Allen Reliford, Harley Alison Agnew, Malachi Prince Adkins and Jacob Smith made a plan to rob Anthony Francis, whom they called the “weed man,” investigators said.

That night, Agnew, 21, knocked on the door of Francis’ house at the corner of Tawney Ridge Lane and Village Drive and asked to buy $5 worth of marijuana, investigators said. After Francis went to his bedroom to get it, Agnew pulled out a handgun and told Francis to give the drug to him otherwise he would shoot, according to the testimony.

Agnew fired two shots at Francis in the living room, hitting him on the finger and knee, before Francis shot Jacob Smith in the back as the man was running away, according to the testimony.

A deputy caught the suspects driving erratically and running through traffic signs in Victorville. Jacob Smith, 21, was found dead in the car, while Francis was transported to a hospital.

Jaysen Smith, 24, Reliford, 22, Agnew, and Adkins, 24, are charged with murder, attempted robbery and other allegations.

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