Friend of Demitri Hampton, who was killed defending family in a home invasion, writes song in his memory

When Tevin Smith decided to stop making music after his grandfather’s death in 2011, it was his friend Demitri Hampton who encouraged him to keep going.

“Demitri told me to never give up,” Smith said today. “He pushed me to do it even more.”

Now, almost three years after Hampton was shot and killed defending his family during a home invasion, Smith has written a song in his friend’s memory.

https://soundcloud.com/whoistevinmusic/letter-to-demitri-audio

“It’s basically me telling him everything I would say if I could speak to him one last time,” Smith said. “I just wish I could tell him what good of an impact he had on my life.”

Hampton, a Riverhead High School graduate, was killed on January 27, 2013 when armed robbers burst into his Flanders residence in the middle of the night. He was shot in the chest as he struggled with two masked men, who held his girlfriend and cousin at gunpoint.

He was only 21 years old.

Smith became friends with Hampton through his cousin, who was good friends with Hampton’s brother. Over the years, their families became “very close.”

“Demitri was always smiling,” Smith recalled today. “He was never upset. And if you were upset, he would try to get you back energized again, making you laugh. That’s just the kind of person he was.”

A popular, friendly and affable young man, Hampton was mourned by the entire Riverhead community after his death. Hampton had been a popular student at Riverhead High School, where he graduated in 2010: He ran track, played basketball and was very active in the school’s anti-violence organization, Council For Unity. At the time of his death, he had been finishing his final semester at Suffolk County Community College, where he was set to graduate with an associate’s degree in criminal justice.

It took more than two years before police would make any arrests in his death. But last month, police charged four people with second-degree murder in connection with the incidents, beginning what Hampton’s mother described as “bringing closure – not only to our family, but to the whole community.”

“Justice has to be served for my son,” she said after an arraignment last month.

Hearing about the arrests, Smith said, inspired him to memorialize his friend through music, a dream that Hampton had always urged him to pursue.

“When they found the killers, I was so excited and so relieved,” Smith said. “I decided to put this together and get the town involved and get everyone together for a good cause.”

Smith, a local hip-hop artist who graduated from Riverhead High School in 2012, finished the song last week. He is now in the process of recording a final version so that he can begin putting together a music video.

He plans to involve Hampton’s family in the video, opening it with a dialogue from his mother, Juanita Trent, about what she would say if she could speak to her son one final time.

Smith also wants to involve the larger Riverhead community in the video and is looking for volunteers.

“I want to get the whole town involved,” he said.

Anyone interested in participating can contact Smith by calling 631-574-0677. The video will be shot sometime in the next two weeks.

“I just want people to remember him for the person he was,” Smith said. “He always brought those good vibes whenever he came around.”