Manslaughter conviction in death of ex-NFL Super Bowl winner Will Smith
The man who fatally shot retired the former New Orleans Saints player is convicted of manslaughter
The man who fatally shot retired New Orleans Saints defensive leader Will Smith was convicted of manslaughter on Sunday night, ending a week-long trial in which the defendant insisted he only fired because the popular football star was drunk, violent and had grabbed a gun following a traffic crash on the night of April 9.
Smith was part of the Saints team that lifted the stricken city’s spirits in the years after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, helping carry the team to a winning season in 2006 and a Super Bowl win four years later. His death at the hands of Cardell Hayes, 29, was stunning, even for a city where residents are accustomed to reports of multiple gunfire deaths every week.
Hayes faces a possible sentence of up to 40 years in prison at his sentencing on February 17. Jurors opted for the lesser charge rather than second-degree murder, which would have carried a mandatory life sentence.
He also was convicted of attempted manslaughter for wounding Smith’s wife.
Hayes’ defence lawyers said Smith’s popularity led to a rush to judgement by police and prosecutors.
“I knew for a fact that I was going to get shot,” Hayes told the jury after taking the stand in his own defence Saturday. He said he not only saw the gun but heard what he believes was a gunshot before he began firing.
Hayes, however, was the only witness to say Smith armed himself that night. Prosecutors acknowledged that a loaded gun was found in Smith’s car but said there was no evidence that it was ever fired or that Smith had grabbed it.
Hayes vehemently denied intentionally running into Smith’s Mercedes SUV moments later – he said he was trying to dial 911 and didn’t realise how close he was getting to Smith as he tried to report the apparent hit-and-run.
Hayes said he armed himself only after he and his own passenger were accosted by Smith and Richard Hernandez, a passenger in the Smiths’ Mercedes. Hernandez, he said, wildly stripped off his shirt and took something shiny from his pocket – Hayes said he was afraid it was a knife.
Hayes testified that Smith addressed him with a racial epithet and then told him, “... you got your gun. Well I’m going to get mine and I’ll show you what to do with it.”
Hayes said Hernandez, a white Hispanic who fled the scene, also used racial epithets.
However, race has not been raised as an alleged factor in the confrontation. Hayes and Kevin O’Neal, his passenger, are black, and so was Smith.
On cross examination, Assistant Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Napoli repeatedly noted that no other witness said Smith had a gun and that Hayes never told investigators he saw a gun in Smith’s hands that night.
Hayes also insisted he never shot Racquel Smith, although Napoli said ballistics evident indicates otherwise.
Calm and sometimes smiling during his early testimony, Hayes’ voice broke a bit as he talked about being separated from his six-year-old son. Hayes has been jailed since the shooting. Hayes owns a tow truck business and also said he breeds dogs. He discussed his high school and college football career, his time as a semi-pro football player and his admiration for Smith. He said he didn’t recognise Smith the night of the shooting and grew despondent hours later upon learning he had killed the beloved football star.
“I cried like a baby,” he said.
“I said my life’s over with ... They’re going to make me like I just shot and killed this man.”