Smith Jr. was arrested Wednesday<\/a>. The Orlando Police Department made the announcement during a news conference.<\/p>\nHe is charged with second-degree murder, but State Attorney Monique Worrell said the charges could escalate depending on the evidence. He has since entered a plea of not guilty.<\/p>\n
Criminal defense attorney Rajan Joshi, senior partner of Joshi Law, spoke with WESH 2 Wednesday evening, shortly after visiting Smith Jr. at the jail, and said his client is innocent.<\/p>\n
“What it looks like to me is that law enforcement had already made the decision very early on that Mr. Smith was the suspect,” Joshi said. <\/p>\n
Joshi began representing Smith in November 2011, when Smith was named a person of interest in connection with Parker’s disappearance. <\/p>\n
He added that the arrest came out of nowhere, and neither he nor his client were expecting it.<\/p>\n
Joshi told WESH 2 that Smith never fled or tried to hide his identity over the years and stayed in the area knowing an arrest was a possibility.<\/p>\n
“He maintains his innocence, and we’re going to go forward with defending him,” Joshi said. <\/p>\n
After a review of the new evidence, which includes text messages detectives uncovered showing an unhealthy relationship.<\/p>\n
Still, Joshi said, “There was nothing in there that made me think that, ‘Oh my god, this is evidence of premeditation.'”<\/p>\n
He said it just shows a couple bickering, like lots often do after a breakup.<\/p>\n
>> Video below: Dale Smith Jr. taken into custody<\/p>\n
>> Video below: Orlando police announce arrest of Dale Smith Jr. during news conference<\/p>\n
Details of Michelle Parker’s 2011 disappearance<\/p>\n
Parker vanished on Nov. 17, 2011, the same day she and Smith appeared on a taped episode of “The People’s Court” arguing over a lost engagement ring.<\/p>\n
She was last known to be alive when she was dropping off her twin children at Smith’s condo near Goldenrod Road and Lee Vista Boulevard in Orlando, police said.<\/p>\n
Parker’s Hummer was found on Nov. 18, 2011, in an Orlando parking lot, and sheriff’s divers discovered her iPhone under an Orange County bridge in December 2011.<\/p>\n
Smith is the only suspect in the case but was never criminally charged.<\/p>\n
Parker’s family has pleaded for answers from Smith’s family. In 2013, Parker’s mother, Yvonne Stewart, asked Tamara Smith, the mother of Dale Smith Jr., to come forward using Crimeline. <\/p>\n
Dale Smith Jr. enters plea of not guilty<\/p>\n
Smith Jr. and his representation submitted a written plea of not guilty on Thursday.<\/p>\n
According to a filing obtained by WESH 2, “the defendant, by and through undersigned counsel, enters this written plea of not guilty to the charge.”<\/p>\n
If he is convicted, Smith Jr. could face life in prison. <\/p>\n
Police continue to search for Parker’s remains.<\/p>\n
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