A Crown Heights man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing a Georgia man during a high-end sneaker transaction in Red Hook, then setting his body and rental car on fire and lying to investigators about what happened. 

According to District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, 31-year-old Hakeem Smith was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for the February 2020 murder of Douglas Young.

A jury convicted Smith of first-degree murder and third-degree arson on last month, following a trial in Brooklyn Supreme Court. Justice John Hecht handed down the sentence. 

Young had traveled from Georgia to Brooklyn in Feb. 2020 to sell Smith 10 pairs of high-end sneakers. The two men knew each other and had previously conducted similar business, according to evidence presented at trial. 

The pair initially planned to meet near Barclays Center, but Smith changed the location to a more remote spot in Red Hook, near Court Street. Young drove his rental car to the area and showed Smith the sneakers. 

Smith then shot Young, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, three times in the head, according to the evidence. 

The sneakers, which Smith took after the shooting, were valued at about $25,000 on the resale market. Among the stolen shoes were Nike Air Yeezy 2 Solar Red, Nike Air Force 1 Low Off-White MCA University Blue, Nike Air Force 1 Low VLONE, Nike Dunk SB Low What the Dunk, Jordan 1 Retro High Travis Scott, Jordan 1 Retro Fragment Friends, Family, Jordan 1 Retro High Off-White Euro and Jordan 1 Retro High Off-White Chicago.

Two days after the killing, Smith returned to the location where Young’s body was still inside the vehicle and set the car on fire, according to prosecutors. 

Smith also inserted himself into the search for Young. The day after the murder, as Young’s relatives tried to find him, Smith offered to help by filing a missing-persons report. 

He later told Young’s family and detectives that he had met Young near Barclays Center, that the sneaker deal never happened and that he watched Young drive away to meet another person. 

Smith was arrested Sept. 11, 2020, after an extensive investigation.

“Today’s sentence holds this defendant accountable for taking the life of Douglas Young, an innocent man who was senselessly and deliberately killed by someone he knew and trusted. The defendant then took elaborate steps to cover up his heinous crime. Young’s family, friends, and community are heartbroken by his loss, and my thoughts are with them today,” Gonzalez said.