Howard County man accused of killing grandparents to remain in jail without bail

A Columbia man accused of killing his grandparents will remain in jail without bail after waiving his bail review hearing Tuesday morning.

DiAngelo Smith, 33, was arrested Monday morning and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and a slew of firearms charges.

Jack Dee Stokes, 78, and Barbara Stokes, 65, were found dead inside the home on Red Haven Road in Columbia. Police said Smith was located with a gun in a vehicle outside of the home.

What happened?

Police were alerted to a shooting at a home in the 6300 block of Red Haven Road in Columbia around 3 a.m. Monday, according to charging documents.

When officers arrived, a witness identified Smith as the suspect. Charging documents say the witness told police he saw Smith point a gun at his grandfather and that he heard a gunshot shortly after.

"The witness fled the residence and heard a second gunshot as he was fleeing," the charging documents said.

Officers got closer to the home and found Smith sitting in a car outside holding a handgun, as well as a minor sitting in the passenger seat.

Eventually, according to charging documents, police pulled Smith out of the car and grabbed the gun. After heading inside, police found his grandparents dead on the second floor -- both were shot in the head.

It's not clear what happened to the minor. The motive is still not known at this time.

Neighbors react

Brian Prengaman, who has lived on Red Haven Road for about a decade, told WJZ he was surprised to wake up to police cars on his street Monday.

He said the victims were "very sweet."

"I knew Jack. He was a nice, quiet guy," Prengaman said.

Rise in homicides

These deaths bring Howard County's 2025 homicide tally to four.

Overall crime has been trending down, according to Howard County Police Department's crime data dashboard.

In 2022, according to the dashboard, the county recorded four homicides. In 2023, five were recorded. Meanwhile, in 2024, nine homicides were recorded.

It should be noted the dashboard's data for 2024 is incomplete, ending on Sept. 30.

An 18-year-old is facing charges for a shooting that killed a 16-year-old and critically injured a 15-year-old outside of The Mall in Columbia on Feb. 25.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball acknowledged the recent spate of violence underscores any progress made with long-term crime reductions.

Ball said his office is working with police "to address these issues and create solutions moving forward."

Prengaman said that despite the recent uptick in violence, he still feels safe in the county.

"I think things happen everywhere at some point," he said. "That being said, it's concerning that there has been an increase in violent stuff happening in Howard County."