Fairfield Spirit Halloween Teen Charged With Two Murders, Adult Trial Sought

Fairfield, California — Solano County prosecutors have charged 17-year-old Monte Smith with two counts of murder over the shooting inside a Spirit Halloween store in Fairfield that killed a pregnant mother of four and wounded six other people, and they are asking a judge to move the case to adult court. The Fairfield Spirit Halloween teen charged case now turns on that transfer decision, sought ahead of Smith's arraignment and detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 9 a.m.

Smith, whose name was made public for the first time in the charging announcement after police had initially withheld it because he is a minor, also faces three counts of attempted murder, three counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon, multiple gun enhancements and a special-circumstance allegation involving multiple murders. Prosecutors argued that he should remain detained while the case proceeds. The charges are accusations, not convictions, and Smith is presumed innocent unless proved guilty in court.

Key Points

• Monte Smith, 17, faces two murder counts, three attempted-murder counts, three assault counts with a semiautomatic weapon, gun enhancements and a multiple-murder special circumstance.
• Prosecutors seek transfer to adult court, citing the crimes' seriousness, Smith's record and public safety.
• Arraignment and a detention hearing were scheduled for November 4, 2026, at 9 a.m.
• The charges follow the October 30, 2026 Spirit Halloween shooting at Solano Town Center, Fairfield, in which Constance Hages, 31, was killed and six others were wounded.
• Police say Smith was previously arrested over a 2025 high school parking lot shooting, was sentenced and later released, and was recognised in store surveillance footage by a school resource officer.

What Happened

The shooting happened at around 8:30 p.m. on Friday, October 30, 2026, inside the Spirit Halloween store at Solano Town Center in Fairfield. Police say Smith entered the store, spotted a customer believed to be his intended target and fired several rounds. Constance Hages, 31, who police confirmed was pregnant and who leaves behind four children, was killed. Six other people were wounded: a 16-year-old boy, a 19-year-old man and a 32-year-old man remained in critical condition, a 23-year-old man was critical but stable, and two men, aged 19 and 43, were treated and released.

The reports available here do not name the intended target or set out a full motive. What is before the court is a set of charges, and the detailed evidence will be tested in hearings. Police identified Smith within hours, after a school resource officer recognised him in surveillance footage as a former student; he was arrested on November 2, 2026. The formal charges are the new development, converting an arrest into a prosecution.

Background and Context

Fairfield is in Solano County, about 47 miles north-east of San Francisco, and Solano Town Center is its main shopping mall. The Spirit Halloween store was busy in the final days before Halloween. The case raises two difficult questions in California criminal justice: how courts handle serious violent crime allegedly committed by a teenager, and how quickly a community learns what happened in a crowded public place.

Smith had previously been arrested over a 2025 shooting in a local high school parking lot, was sentenced and later released. Prosecutors cited that record, the seriousness of the Fairfield shooting and public safety when seeking transfer. If granted, Smith would be tried under adult procedures and sentencing exposure, rather than in the juvenile system.

On the two murder counts, precision is needed: one person, Constance Hages, is named as killed, and the reports available here do not explain in detail how the second count is framed. This article does not speculate about it; that detail should become clearer in open court.

Fairfield Spirit Halloween Teen Charged: What the Adult-Court Bid Means

In California, transfer to adult court is not automatic. Prosecutors must persuade a judge, on the grounds reported here — gravity, prior record and public safety. The defence may oppose transfer, and the judge decides. Custody is the other immediate question: prosecutors argued Smith should remain detained, and the November 4 hearing was set to address detention and arraignment.

Arraignment is the hearing at which a defendant is formally presented with the charges and enters a plea. Until it is held and reported, it would be wrong to describe Smith as having pleaded guilty or not guilty, or the transfer request as decided. The schedule, not the outcome, is what the charging reports confirm.

Reactions and What Is Known So Far

The Solano County District Attorney's Office is the source of the charges and of the adult-court request. Its stated reasons — the seriousness of the crimes, Smith's criminal record and the threat to public safety — frame the prosecution's position in the early stages. Police have set out the sequence they say led to the arrest: surveillance footage, recognition by a school resource officer, and an arrest within hours of identification.

No statement from Smith's defence and no plea have been reported in the material available here — normal before arraignment, when defence lawyers often decline to comment. Community attention has centred on the victims, above all Hages and the six wounded, including a 16-year-old boy who remained in critical condition.

Why It Matters

This case matters for three reasons. First, it tests how California handles a teenager accused of a shooting in a public place, and the adult-court decision will shape the rest of the proceedings. Second, it raises the question of what happens when a young person with a prior serious record is released and then accused of a far graver offence — answerable only on the full facts. Third, it shows the vulnerability of ordinary public spaces: a costume shop on a Friday evening, full of families preparing for Halloween, became a shooting scene.

What Happens Next

The next step is the arraignment and detention hearing on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 9 a.m., at which a judge is expected to consider the adult-court request and custody. Further hearings will follow, and prosecutors may amend charges as the investigation continues. Police have not said whether they seek anyone else; the account so far points to a single suspect.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who has been charged? Monte Smith, 17, charged with two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, three counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon, gun enhancements and a multiple-murder special circumstance.

Will Smith be tried as an adult? Prosecutors have asked a judge to transfer the case to adult court. A judge will decide; the transfer has not been reported as granted.

When was the arraignment scheduled? Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 9 a.m., for arraignment and a detention hearing.

Who was killed? Constance Hages, 31, pregnant and a mother of four, was killed on October 30, 2026, at the Fairfield Spirit Halloween store. Six others were wounded.

What happened before the arrest? Police say Smith was identified within hours after a school resource officer recognised him in surveillance footage as a former student. He had previously been arrested over a 2025 high school parking lot shooting, was sentenced and later released.

Read more: Fairfield Halloween store shooting leaves one dead, six wounded and Troy shooting arrests.