FORT PIERCE — The State Attorney’s Office has decided a Port St. Lucie man was defending his grandmother when he stabbed and killed a man assaulting her.

According to Port St. Lucie Police Department reports, 39-year-old Scot Smith stabbed Michael Gary Sherman, 51, in the early morning hours of Jan. 21 as Sherman was attacking Smith’s grandmother, 87-year-old Augusta Smith.

A report made available Friday at the police department said Assistant State Attorney Linda Baldree had determined Scott Smith’s act was justifiable homicide, and State Attorney Bruce Colton agreed.

Scott Smith met Sherman while fishing under a bridge shortly before the incident; the two became friends and Sherman was allowed to stay in the single-story home owned by Augusta Smith.

Scott Smith reportedly stabbed Sherman with a butcher knife about 4:45 a.m. Jan. 21 after hearing his grandmother’s screams and finding Sherman on top of her.

Augusta Smith told authorities she woke up when Sherman put a pillow over her face, and she screamed to her grandson for help.

“(Sherman) clearly was trying to suffocate her,” said Bruce Harrison, assistant state attorney in charge of St. Lucie County, “and Scott (Smith) clearly was acting in defense of his grandmother. We didn’t see any way to charge Scott (Smith) with a crime.”

People who knew Sherman said he was an alcoholic with a criminal history. According to St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office records, he had been arrested on charges including theft, battery, carjacking, possession of a controlled substance, violation of probation, failure to appear and contempt of court.

Tags: Crime, Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie County

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