Update, Sept. 12 at 3 p.m.:
On Monday, a Montgomery County District Court judge ordered defendant Larry Smith to be held without bond pending trial.
Smith, 71, faces first-degree murder for the death of a County Special Deputy Sheriff in 1971. He is scheduled to appear back in court on Oct. 7 for a preliminary hearing.
Original Post:
Montgomery County Police arrested a man for the 1971 murder of a Montgomery County Deputy Sheriff, the department announced Wednesday.
Larry David Smith, 71, of New York confessed to the killing of Capt. James Tappen Hall in an interview with police on Sept. 1.
On Oct. 23, 1971, at approximately 10:40 p.m., police were called to the Manor Country Club in Rockville, following multiple reports of a man lying face down in the southeast parking lot.
Upon arriving to the scene, officers found Hall suffering from a gunshot wound. First responders transported Hall to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries three days later, police said.
Detectives believe Hall interrupted a residential burglary in progress.
Authorities say in October of 2021, on the 50th anniversary of Hall’s murder, detectives from the cold case unit decided to review the case with a fresh set of eyes.
Police Chief Marcus Jones said Smith was interviewed back in 1973 but had not been labeled a suspect. Over the course of the most recent investigation, detectives narrowed in on Smith who had been living in Little Falls, New York for over 45 years.
Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said Smith is expected to be extradited to Montgomery County later this week.
McCarthy anticipates Smith, who faces first-degree murder, will have a bond review hearing on Monday.
“To the Hall family–we are pleased to bring justice to your grandfather, father, and uncle,” Jones said.
