#553 Lauren Bright Pacheco with Jeff Smith

Wrongful Conviction

Lava for Good Podcasts

True Crime

4.6 • 5.7K Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On July 9, 2006, at Club Crystal in Waterloo, IA, an individual later identified as Tonye Jackson was shot multiple times and killed on the property. The shooting occurred during active nightclub hours, with multiple patrons present at the scene. Three gunshots along with Jeff Smith’s nickname were audible on a recorded Black Hawk County Jail phone call contemporaneous with the incident. After a trial lacking physical evidence tying Jeff to the crime and marked by timeline manipulation, unreliable witness statements, and significant nondisclosure of exculpatory evidence, a Black Hawk County jury found Jeff Smith guilty of First-Degree Murder and sentenced him to life in prison without parole.

To learn more and get involved:

https://www.instagram.com/thereal_atprichie/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGVQsUTD9IQF1POBPkLgXTA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV4qNY9U5g4

To get involved in helping exonerees like Jeff Smith rebuild their lives after release:

www.after-innocence.org

Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	On July 9th, 2006, a shooting ripped through a Waterloo Iowa nightclub.
0:08.0	Tanya Jackson was fatally shot.
0:12.0	Panicked clubgoers flooded 911 with calls, and in the chaos, one name came out.
0:18.0	Local rapper Jeff Smith.
0:22.2	The problem?
0:24.4	Jeff didn't match the description.
0:26.6	His car wasn't the getaway car.
0:28.6	None of it lined up.
0:33.6	Yet police produced statements that corroborated that initial identification and contradicted the facts they already had.
0:38.3	This is wrongful conviction.
0:45.3	The Fox Foundation is proud to support this episode of wrongful conviction and the work of
0:51.4	after innocence, a nonprofit that helps hundreds of people nationwide rebuild
0:55.7	their lives after wrongful incarceration. Each year, innocent people are released after spending
1:01.6	years behind bars for crimes they didn't commit. Nearly all of them leave prison with nothing
1:07.2	more than the clothes on their backs, with no help or compensation from the state as
1:11.6	they face the steep challenges of rebuilding their lives after wrongful imprisonment.
1:16.6	After Innocence is changing that. After Innocence helps exoneries get and make good use of essential
1:23.6	services like health care, dental care, mental health support, legal aid, financial
1:28.6	counseling, and more. Since 2016, they've brought that help to more than 800 exoneries across
1:36.0	46 states, working tirelessly to ensure that no one released after wrongful incarceration is left
1:42.8	behind. Learn more at after-innocence.org
1:47.1	and join after-innocence to support exoneries as they rebuild their lives.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 17 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Lava for Good Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Lava for Good Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.