LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — One of the people involved in the fatal shooting at Harvest Homecoming last fall is headed to prison.
Joshua Smith, of Louisville, was sentenced in a Floyd County courtroom Friday morning after he agreed to a plea deal in February.
Smith is one of several people charged in the shooting that took the life of 18-year-old Bryce Gerlach and hurt two other people during the popular fall festival in downtown New Albany.
“Bryce was waiting in line at the Ferris wheel with his girlfriend, celebrating their one year,” said Heather Gerlach, the victim’s mother. “We should have been picking out a suit for graduation, not for him to wear in his coffin.”
Bryce Gerlach was shot inside the ride area. Police believe all three victims were innocent bystanders who weren’t related to an argument between two groups of people that ultimately led to the shooting.
He Gerlach was a senior at Corydon Central High School, where he was also on the football team. Heather Gerlach spoke for the first time publicly at Smith’s hearing. She said her son dreamed of playing football in college.
“Another dreamed erased by this senseless act of violence,” she said.
About a dozen Bryce Gerlach’s friends and family showed up in court to hear Smith’s sentence. Many of them wore shirts with the slogan “live like Bryce.”
Smith originally faced 11 charges in connection to the shooting, including murder. However, he pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to armed robbery.
He will serve 2,920 days in prison. That’s more than seven years. Smith will then have about two years of probation.
“To parrot (Smith’s) own words about what happened that night, it was stupid,” Judge Justin Brown said during Smith’s sentencing hearing. “Someone lost their life for nothing.”
Floyd County Prosecutor Chris Lane said Smith made a “bad choice.”
“I think it was a selfish, awful choice that he committed and that put people at risk,” Lane said. “This is a choice to use a weapon in the community.”
As part of his plea deal, Smith is required to testify in ongoing cases connected to the Oct. 12, 2024, shooting.
While it’s a step toward justice for these victims, Smith’s prison sentence doesn’t undo the Gerlach family’s pain. Heather Gerlach said, in his final moments, her son was a hero.
“Every day feels like an eternity without him,” Heather Gerlach said. “The absence of his laughter and energy leaves a hole in our heart that will never be filled. The pain of not having him here to share future moments is a burden we will carry forever.”
His loved ones now carry his memory on and encourage others to live like Bryce Gerlach.
“Remember Bryce as the innocent, loving, and talented young man he was,” Heather Gerlach said. “He wasn’t just a student or an athlete. He was the kind of person who would light up a room with a smile.”
The Floyd County prosecutor said there are about 10 people facing charges in connection with the Harvest Homecoming shooting, including some juveniles.
