Justo Smoker Gets Additional 17+ Years; First Parole Hearing Will Be At Age 87

With the announcement in July of a guilty plea in the Linda Stoltzfoos murder case, it was expected that Justo Smoker would spend the rest of his life behind bars. Smoker admitted to kidnapping, killing, and burying the 18-year-old Amish girl. He received a sentence of 35.5 to 71 years for charges of third-degree murder, kidnapping, and misdemeanors.

Unresolved at that time were the additional years to be added for violating his parole (Smoker had previously served 12.5 years for a series of armed robberies and burglaries, and had been paroled in 2019). The decision on his parole violation sentence was announced yesterday:

Justo Smoker, who admitted last month to kidnapping and murdering 18-year-old Linda Stoltzfoos, was recently sentenced to nearly 20 extra years in prison for violating the terms of his parole, Lancaster County prosecutors announced Thursday.

The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office said the Pennsylvania Parole Board has sentenced Smoker to an additional 17 years, 5 months and 30 days in prison — the maximum amount of time someone can be sentenced for a parole violation.

It appears that there is very little chance that Smoker will see freedom again. He will first be eligible for parole around 2074, at age 87. Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams:

“We are extremely pleased with the Board’s recent decision. It is clear that they agreed that Mr. Smoker is a predator and represents a clear danger to the community and deserves to be incarcerated for as long as legally possible,” District Attorney Heather Adams said in a Thursday news release.

Adams previously lobbied for Smoker to get the maximum sentence for his parole violation, writing to the Parole Board: “In this case, there is absolutely nothing that would support the parole of Justo Smoker; in fact, paroling Smoker would unquestionably endanger the community.”

The news regarding Smoker’s additional sentence fulfills the prosecution’s goals for the Stoltzfoos case, Adams said.

She said, “We brought Linda home to her family, we secured a murder conviction against Smoker, and now we can confirm that he will never be able to harm another member of our community again – justice truly has been served.”

Linda Stoltzfoos was kidnapped on June 21, 2020. One year and nearly two months later, it appears the final piece of justice in the case has fallen into place. It’s hard to imagine what Linda’s loved ones have endured. One can only wish they will achieve some sort of peace as they move forward without the young woman in their lives.

 

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    6 Comments

    1. John Phelan

      Justo Smoker Prison Sentence

      I am not from the Lancaster area but have visited many times over the years and have been following this story closely. I was very happy to hear about the length of the sentence Justo Smoker received for what he did to Linda Stoltzfoos. He deserves every year of it and then some. He has proven beyond any doubt that he cannot govern himself in a free society. What he did to her was unconscionable.

      He will, in all likelihood, die in prison and maybe sooner than he thinks. Good riddance. Besides the crime itself he also brought darkness to an area that is generally about light and goodness. I doubt he even has the mental capacity to understand that.

    2. Casey

      Heartbreaking!

      I cannot even imagine the hurt and the heartbreak these parents are dealing with. Stoically Amish or not, they still have the same heart we do. It still breaks when something happens to our children. And on Father’s Day of all days. I prayed for this family and truly had hoped that a more positive outcome would have been seen. It makes me so sad, yet profoundly filled with joy, to know that this whole community came together, Amish and Englisch alike, to look for this young lady. I, with all my heart, wish the ending could have been extremely different. But God knows what He is doing and He knows every second of life we’ve been given. I just had hope this family (and the extended community) can heal I’m a way that doesn’t leave them shattered forever. Nothing will bring their beautiful daughter back, but I pray The Lord will grant then a peace beyond all understanding and that they will continue to draw closer to Him throughout their lives. This whole thing —- my heart just hurts.

    3. Debbie

      What would the Amish do?

      I’m curious as to what the Amish believe in punishment. Would they let Smoker go?

    4. Bert

      reply

      no they will let the system decide his punishment as it is now its 88 years till he might see the light of day on the outside

    5. Reziac

      Good.

      This is someone who clearly cannot learn from his mistakes, and is wired to behave this way, or he wouldn’t have such a string of priors. May he never see the light of day again, and never get another chance to harm the innocent.

    6. Jack

      Smoker’s background is sketchy.

      Smokers adoptive parents brought him here from the streets of the Dominican Republic, I believe.