Steven Michael Hudson, 40, was being held in jail Saturday on an open count of murder after allegedly shooting his girlfriend, 41-year-old Ashley Brooke Smith, inside the home they shared at 1216 Illinois Ave.
LYNN HAVEN — An argument inside a Lynn Haven home Friday evening ended with a woman suffering fatal gunshot wounds and her boyfriend being tracked down and arrested, according to the Lynn Haven Police Department.
Steven Michael Hudson, 40, was being held in jail Saturday on an open count of murder in connection with the case. Lynn Haven Police Department officials reported that at about 5 p.m. Friday a domestic dispute led to Hudson allegedly fatally shooting 41-year-old Ashley Brooke Smith inside the home they shared at 1216 Illinois Ave.
Hudson, a recently released convict, allegedly fled the scene afterward but was taken into custody shortly afterward, officers reported.
When LHPD responded to the Illinois Avenue home, they found Smith suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to her neck and abdomen, according to the reports. As she was rushed to a local hospital, investigators identified Hudson as the suspected shooter, officers reported.
“Both Hudson and Smith had been recently living together ...,” officers wrote. “Hudson and Smith are believed to have been engaged in a domestic dispute immediately prior to the shooting.”
Smith was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Witnesses told police they saw Hudson with a gun in his hand as he fled the house, LHPD reported.
Numerous officers descended on the area and began looking for Hudson, who was spotted by Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies on State 77 heading back toward Lynn Haven. Deputies stopped Hudson at Porter Park in Lynn Haven, and he was taken to the Lynn Haven Police Station for questioning.
Hudson admitted to the shooting and told officers that he and Smith had been dating only a few months, police reported. He then was taken to the Bay County Jail where he is being held on an open count of murder.
Hudson had been released from prison in February after serving a three-year sentence from 2015 for felony fleeing and eluding officers. He has a lengthy criminal history that includes a conviction for armed trespassing and several incidents of stalking that were later dropped by prosecutors.
LHPD reported that the investigation into Smith’s death is continuing. Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the LHPD at 850-265-4111.