The Kingston Police Department and the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office on Friday, March 20 announced the arrest of a suspect in the Feb. 11 killing of Ashley “Ash” Dixon.
Charged with second-degree murder is 35-year-old Cory Q. Smith, who police say is a resident of both the Bronx and Kingston.
According to police, Smith and Dixon got into a verbal dispute outside 34-48 Sheehan Court — a road that runs through the Kingston Housing Authority’s Colonial Village apartment complex — resulting in Smith shooting Dixon, a 31-year-old Green Street resident, three times. Dixon was transported to HealthAlliance Hospital’s Broadway Campus, where he was pronounced dead.
According to the KPD and the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office, Smith fled the area after the shooting but didn’t stay at large for long. Police said the next day, he was taken into custody on a federal probation violation charge in the Bronx and has been held by the feds since then at the Rensselaer County Jail. He was arraigned Friday on an Ulster County grand jury indictment handed up a few weeks ago.
Police said Smith had previously been convicted on cocaine sales and weapons charges stemming from a 2006 arrest, for which he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years post-release supervision.
The Smith arrest represents a breakthrough in one of the three recent killings in the city. Dixon’s was the third homicide in Kingston since Oct. 24, 2019. On that day, Daniel Thomas Jr., 27, was shot and killed on the corner of Cedar and Prospect streets. That case remains unsolved. One week later, on Nov. 1, 2019, Myron T. Moye, 36, was killed in a break-in at his home on West O’Reilly Street. Police are still seeking three suspects who were seen fleeing the scene.
In addition to those homicides, police are still seeking a suspect in the Dec. 29, 2019 non-fatal shooting of a man on Franklin Street and a Jan. 26 incident where an unknown suspect fired three shots at a group of people standing near a vehicle in the parking lot of the Dunkin’ Donuts shop on Broadway. Police have declined to say whether they believe any of the incidents are related, or comment on the ongoing investigations other than to say in Friday’s release that the “continue to relentlessly work” to solve the cases.
The Kingston Police Department was assisted in the investigation by following: the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office, state police, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, the Town of the Ulster Police Department, the NYPD and the U.S. Marshal’s Office. “The Kingston Police Department would like to thank all the agencies for tireless support and cooperation in this investigation resulting in the arrest of the person responsible for this heinous crime,” the release stated.
“This investigation could not have reached the point of indictment without the extraordinary efforts of the Kingston Police, the New York State Police BCI and Major Crimes Unit, the Town of Ulster Police, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office and a team of Ulster County District Attorney investigators, along with the cooperation of members of the community,” Ulster County District Attorney Dave Clegg stated in a press release.
Anyone with any information on the city homicides is encouraged to contact the Kingston Police Department at (845) 331-1671. Anonymous tips can also be submitted using the Submit A Tip app available on the KPD’s Facebook page.
With additional reporting by Jesse J. Smith
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