Deadly Intent or Desperate Defense? The Machete Clash That Could Cost a Pregnant Woman 30 Years
It began as a heated argument in a convenience store parking lot. It ended in a courtroom, where a young pregnant woman faced the terrifying prospect of spending the next three decades behind bars.
On January 21, 2021, 25-year-old Donjané Smith of Phoenix found herself in a life-altering confrontation with her partner, James Runnels. As tempers flared, Smith reached for a machete stashed in her car—a weapon she had carried for five years but never once used.
Surveillance footage from the scene captured the tense exchange. The video showed Runnels spitting on Smith before making contact with the blade. Though his injury was minor—a small cut on his hand requiring no medical attention—the consequences for Smith were anything but. When police arrived, she was the one placed under arrest.
“Are you kidding me? This cannot be happening,” Smith pleaded with the officers.
Despite Runnels himself not wanting to press charges, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office decided otherwise. Smith was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, each carrying a potential 15-year sentence. The young woman, who was already expecting a child, now faced the grim reality of giving birth behind prison walls.
A Relationship on the Edge
Before her legal nightmare, Smith had moved from Fresno, California, to Phoenix, where she met Runnels. Their first encounter was at a nightclub, a fleeting moment that seemed like fate when they unexpectedly crossed paths again the next day.
“It was funny. Such a coincidence,” Smith recalled. “Like it was God’s plan.”
Their relationship began smoothly, but tensions soon surfaced. Smith learned that Runnels had been involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with another woman, fueling conflict between them.
The machete, which later became the centerpiece of her legal battle, had originally been a gift from a friend of her brother. He had insisted she keep it for protection when walking alone at night after her caregiving shifts.
“I carried it for five years and never used it,” Smith explained. “It fit perfectly in my car, right next to my seatbelt.”
Until that night.
A Case That Should Never Have Been?
Following her arrest, Smith was offered a plea deal: a lesser felony charge with no prison time. But there was a catch—she had to accept the deal before seeing any of the evidence the prosecution planned to use against her.
“I told them to go jump in a lake,” her attorney, Robert J. Campos, said bluntly. “There was no way I was going to have my client plead guilty without reviewing the case against her. It’s common sense.”
The prosecution’s aggressive stance didn’t sit well with Runnels, either. In a recorded phone conversation, he revealed that he had been discouraged from contacting the defense to testify on Smith’s behalf. When he finally did, he made his stance clear:
“If she was really trying to get me, she could’ve got me,” Runnels told the court. “It’s a big machete.”
Under oath, he even admitted his own intentions that night: “I was about to beat her up.”
With compelling defense arguments and damning evidence against the prosecution’s case, Judge Michael Kemp dismissed the charges outright before the jury could even deliberate. Smith walked free.
Life After the Verdict
Today, Smith is pregnant with her second child with Runnels. Though the case is behind her, the emotional scars remain.
As for the infamous machete? It remains in police custody. But Smith insists she no longer needs it.
“I keep my faith in God,” she says. “I have a child now. I don’t want to be in defense mode.”
What started as a heated parking lot dispute nearly became a 30-year prison sentence. But was Donjané Smith a dangerous aggressor, or simply a woman fighting for her life? The courtroom has ruled—but the debate rages on.
