Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Everyday meth snorter at age 13

With multiple convictions behind him, Gregory Smith gets another chance

Vista resident Gregory Dwight Smith, 47, was given credit for time already served and ordered into three years of formal probation in San Diego Superior Court on November 13.

Gregory Smith

Smith began his criminal history when he was 16 years old and has been in and out of prison at least nine times. In his most recent felony conviction, he admitted to three counts of attempted pimping, for which he could have gotten more than four years prison, according to plea-deal paperwork.

On November 22, 2013, Smith was arrested at La Quinta Inn in Vista, where he was staying in room 311, according to an investigators’ report. Three young women were questioned that day at the hotel.

Sponsored
Sponsored
"Unique"
"Leah"
"Harlie"

Investigators seized nine cell phones and found text messages that included: “I’m done” and “My date will be here in 5 minutes” and “I got an hour long date showing up in twenty minutes.”

When questioned by deputies, one of the women said she gave Smith money for food and gas and the hotel room; another woman said she was “just trying to help him out” and that Smith was “watching my back.”

When sheriff’s deputies confronted him, “Smith denied being a pimp” and said the only reason his name was on the room registry was “because he needed a hotel room key,” an investigator stated.

The sting operation began when officers responded to advertisements on Backpage.com, and a woman advertised as “Unique” agreed to perform a sex act for $80. In another advertisement on the same website, a woman identified as “Leah” informed browsers that she was an “exotic blonde bunny and new bombshell in town” and provided photos of herself. Another woman who called herself “Harlie” promised “treatment for a king” and “I will help you unwind and it will be something you won’t soon forget”; she displayed photos of herself in lingerie.

In an interview, Smith denied pimping and reportedly said, “I have four daughters…why would I do this with these women?” Smith told an officer that he has been married for ten years and lives with his wife and her three daughters who are 14, 18, and 24; Smith reportedly has another daughter, 23 years old, from a previous relationship.

Prior felony convictions for Smith are listed in court documents as a burglary in 1986, armed robbery and assault in 1987, stolen vehicle in 1992, escape from state prison in 1993, human trafficking and false imprisonment in 1996, a drug felony in 1997, felony resisting arrest with violence in 2001, fleeing from officers with wanton disregard for public safety in 2004, another first-degree burglary in 2008, and another stolen vehicle in 2010. All the crimes were committed in San Diego County.

After his arrest last November, Smith bailed out May 9, 2014, after a $1000 fee was paid to the Bail Hotline to post his $10,000 bond. He has been at liberty since.

According to a probation report, Smith said he had used meth daily from age 13 until 43 and “he said he occasionally drank beer but not to excess.” Smith reportedly has kidney failure and is outfitted with a dialysis tube in his abdomen and requires daily treatment.

A probation officer stated in her report: “The defendant wants to raise his children, teach his son what it means to be a man, and control himself.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Aaron Stewart trades Christmas wonders for his first new music in 15 years

“Just because the job part was done, didn’t mean the passion had to die”

Vista resident Gregory Dwight Smith, 47, was given credit for time already served and ordered into three years of formal probation in San Diego Superior Court on November 13.

Gregory Smith

Smith began his criminal history when he was 16 years old and has been in and out of prison at least nine times. In his most recent felony conviction, he admitted to three counts of attempted pimping, for which he could have gotten more than four years prison, according to plea-deal paperwork.

On November 22, 2013, Smith was arrested at La Quinta Inn in Vista, where he was staying in room 311, according to an investigators’ report. Three young women were questioned that day at the hotel.

Sponsored
Sponsored
"Unique"
"Leah"
"Harlie"

Investigators seized nine cell phones and found text messages that included: “I’m done” and “My date will be here in 5 minutes” and “I got an hour long date showing up in twenty minutes.”

When questioned by deputies, one of the women said she gave Smith money for food and gas and the hotel room; another woman said she was “just trying to help him out” and that Smith was “watching my back.”

When sheriff’s deputies confronted him, “Smith denied being a pimp” and said the only reason his name was on the room registry was “because he needed a hotel room key,” an investigator stated.

The sting operation began when officers responded to advertisements on Backpage.com, and a woman advertised as “Unique” agreed to perform a sex act for $80. In another advertisement on the same website, a woman identified as “Leah” informed browsers that she was an “exotic blonde bunny and new bombshell in town” and provided photos of herself. Another woman who called herself “Harlie” promised “treatment for a king” and “I will help you unwind and it will be something you won’t soon forget”; she displayed photos of herself in lingerie.

In an interview, Smith denied pimping and reportedly said, “I have four daughters…why would I do this with these women?” Smith told an officer that he has been married for ten years and lives with his wife and her three daughters who are 14, 18, and 24; Smith reportedly has another daughter, 23 years old, from a previous relationship.

Prior felony convictions for Smith are listed in court documents as a burglary in 1986, armed robbery and assault in 1987, stolen vehicle in 1992, escape from state prison in 1993, human trafficking and false imprisonment in 1996, a drug felony in 1997, felony resisting arrest with violence in 2001, fleeing from officers with wanton disregard for public safety in 2004, another first-degree burglary in 2008, and another stolen vehicle in 2010. All the crimes were committed in San Diego County.

After his arrest last November, Smith bailed out May 9, 2014, after a $1000 fee was paid to the Bail Hotline to post his $10,000 bond. He has been at liberty since.

According to a probation report, Smith said he had used meth daily from age 13 until 43 and “he said he occasionally drank beer but not to excess.” Smith reportedly has kidney failure and is outfitted with a dialysis tube in his abdomen and requires daily treatment.

A probation officer stated in her report: “The defendant wants to raise his children, teach his son what it means to be a man, and control himself.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
Next Article

Aaron Stewart trades Christmas wonders for his first new music in 15 years

“Just because the job part was done, didn’t mean the passion had to die”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader