A “difficult patient” who admitted to killing two dentists over a disagreement about dentures was given a life sentence.
Tyler, Texas resident Steven Alexander Smith entered a guilty plea on Monday to capital murder in connection with the shooting murders of Drs. Blake Sinclair,59, and Jack Burroughs Jr., 75, on March 16, 2022, at their business Affordable Dentures.
According to Smith County District Attorney Jacob Putman, Smith accepted an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole after submitting the plea. In a motion submitted in November, the DA’s office said it would not pursue the death sentence.
Putman stated that the defendant would never be released from prison.
Burroughs informed Smith on the day of the shooting that he would not be accepted as a patient due to the issues he was creating in the clinic. Citing the police document, it stated that Smith became agitated, attempted to remove his dentures, and pushed Burroughs to the ground.
According to the affidavit, the patient went outside the premises, returned, and walked toward the front door, forcing it open as Burroughs attempted to shut it.
After Sinclair grabbed Smith from behind, a fight broke out between the men.
The two dentists, who were subsequently declared deceased at a nearby hospital, were shot five times by Smith after a nurse witnessed him drawing a pistol.
The nurse reported to the police that Smith had pointed his pistol at her before getting into his car and driving off.
Later, as he pulled into his south Tyler driveway, a deputy was there to detain him.
Smith had “always been a difficult patient,” the nurse said police and was unhappy with how the staff carried out their duties. He felt his treatment by the staff was poor.
Smith entered the plea on Monday, the day his jury trial was scheduled to begin.
