Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 4, 1990 TAG: 9003042169
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
He played the odds and lost.
And when police arrived at Ruxton apartments on Colonial Avenue in Roanoke shortly before 4 a.m., he was sitting upright on a couch.
A .38 caliber bullet had pierced the right side of his head.
Smith, 29, had knocked on several apartment doors at the complex earlier in the morning, said a Ruxton spokesman who refused to be identified.
About 3:30 a.m., Garland Beery let him in. Smith challenged Beery and another man to a game of Russian roulette.
Police said it is unclear whether the other two agreed to play.
Smith pulled a pistol from a holster, took five shells out of the gun and spun the cylinder once. He pulled the trigger and the gun fired.
He died as rescue workers tried to save his life.
Saturday was supposed to be his last day living at the apartment complex.
His landlords had evicted him for wearing guns and knives, the apartment spokesman said.
"He'd been warned repeatedly," a Ruxton spokesman said.
by CNB