By Chelyen Davis
The Free Lance-Star

RICHMOND – A Richmond man has pleaded guilty to carjacking in a 2007 case that ended with two dead bodies found in the trunk of a Lexus in Caroline County.

Joseph Thomas Smith, 30, pleaded guilty this morning in federal court to one count of carjacking resulting in death.

He had faced six federal charges and was due to go to trial in January. The prosecutors have agreed to drop the other charges in exchange for his guilty plea.

Wearing prison stripes and guarded by U.S. marshals, Smith answered Judge Henry Hudson’s questions with “no sir” and “yes sir.”

Under the plea, prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against Smith, who is considered the mastermind behind the carjacking case.

Hudson set sentencing for March 4 and said he will use sentencing guidelines and a probation officer’s report into Smith’s background to help decide Smith’s term.

The maximum Smith could receive is life in prison, and Hudson warned him to make a good impression on the probation officer.

“You have the rest of your life hanging on that report,” Hudson said.

Other defendants in the case have received long sentences. While case records for several defendants are sealed, sources familiar with the case say that Smith’s wife, India Perleta Smith, 25, was sentenced to 30 years; Sheppard Cary Thomas III, 30, was sentenced to 45 years; and Kevin Lamont Coleman, 30, was sentenced to 50 years. All were Richmond residents.

It is unclear why federal documents on this case are sealed, but a government motion was granted in July to certify the case as complex.

The case began when two young men -- 22-year-old Willie Donyelle Smith and 23-year-old Jamal Nasir, both of Richmond – were found dead in the trunk of a 1995 Lexus belonging to Nasir, parked on Penola Road in Caroline.

A woman had called 911 after seeing the unfamiliar car in her driveway.

According to a federal affidavit, Thomas, Coleman, Joseph Smith, India Smith and Levon Smith conspired to abduct and rob Nasir and Willie Smith of money and marijuana at a home on Brenton Street in Richmond.

According to the affidavit, the four lured the victims to the home with the implication that they could have sex with India Smith.