Dispute over car keys leads to Chambersburg teen being charged with attempted murder

A 17-year-old has been jailed in lieu of $350,000 bail after he stabbed someone who would not hand over a set of car keys, according to state police. 

Jovon Devante Smith, Chambersburg, is charged with attempted homicide and two counts of aggravated assault, according to court records. A representative of Magisterial District Judge David Plum confirmed he is charged as an adult, due to the severity of the crime. 

Troopers responding to a report of a stabbing shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday at a Greene Township home found a male victim with wounds to his hand and the right side of his chest, Pennsylvania State Police wrote in the charging document. 

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Blood was on the walls and floor of a bathroom, as well as on several items in an attached bedroom. 

The victim told police he had been using the bathroom when Smith started banging on the bedroom door. The teen wanted the keys to his grandmother's vehicle, which were in the victim's possession. 

The victim said he told Smith he would only give him the keys if his grandmother told him to.

Smith, who had made his way into the bathroom by this point, attempted to reach into the victim's pocket, but the victim pushed him away. The victim recalled the teen "suddenly" reached into his own pocket with his other hand and pulled out a knife, according to the charging document; however, he later said he was unsure how the knife entered the altercation. 

Smith grabbed the victim by the neck and stabbed him on the right side of his chest, the document states. The victim also sustained a cut on his left hand as the two fought. 

Upon learning the police had been called, Smith attempted to flee the scene, the victim told police. 

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Smith admitted to police that he grabbed the knife during the altercation and was responsible for the victim's wounds, according to the charging document. He confirmed he got upset over the car keys. 

The victim was flown to York Hospital for treatment. The charging document provided no identifying information about the victim, besides being male. 

Smith's preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sept. 17 before Judge Plum in Franklin County Central Court.