Tyler

By MALENA OGLES
Staff Writer

A Tyler man remains hospitalized after he was brutally attacked and robbed inside his home late Saturday night.

The victim, identified by the Tyler Police Department as 21-year-old Jeremy Smith, returned to his home in the 1900 block of Sunnybrook Drive around 11 p.m. to find several unknown black males burglarizing the house.

According to information from the Tyler Police Department, Smith was assaulted by one of the armed men who fired a shot into the ceiling of the home before fleeing.

The men then took Smith's truck, a white 1996 Dodge pickup with the Texas license plate number 92JTG7 and left the area. The stolen vehicle was recovered Sunday evening behind an abandoned house on West Jackson Street in Tyler, according to Tyler Police. The vehicle was towed to the police department for processing.

Family members of the victim said that the stolen truck had a decal on the back window that read: "Kayla's Truck, In Loving Memory of Kayla Jean Smith." The decal, written in blue also contained an image of a little girl praying. Family said that the decal was in memory of Smith's sister, who was killed in 2004 after being struck by a drunken driver.

Smith suffered non-life-threatening injuries from the attack and is currently is currently listed in good condition at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler.

Police said the incident is still under investigation.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to contact the Tyler Police at 903-531-1000.

Updated Monday, Sept. 8, 2008 at 5:10 a.m. CDT