Convicted drug dealer charged in murder of Fox exec Gavin Smith

A man who was being investigated in the disappearance of 20th Century Fox executive Gavin Smith has been charged with his death.

John Lenzie Creech was charged Thursday with one felony count of murder in the May 2, 2012, death of Smith, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. He is set to be arraigned Monday in downtown Los Angeles.

Creech is already serving an eight-year sentence for an unrelated drug conviction.

Authorities had been investigating Creech since February 2013 when they got a tip that Smith’s car was in a Simi Valley storage locker. The storage locker was linked to Creech.

Creech, who was arrested by Glendale police in a drug bust, pleaded no contest in 2012 to one count of selling and transporting cocaine.

He told a Los Angeles Times reporter he had never met Smith.

But deputies believed that there was some relationship between Smith and Creech’s wife, whom he met in rehab.

Smith’s remains were found Oct. 26 in a shallow grave by hikers in a rural desert outside Palmdale.

Smith, 57, had not been seen since May 1, 2012, and was legally declared dead May 1, 2014.

He was last seen leaving a female’s friend’s home in Ventura County. Family and friends searched for Smith and offered a $20,000 reward.

If convicted, Creech faces 25 years to life in prison.

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