Anthony Smith (defensive end)

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Anthony Smith
No. 94, 75
Position: Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1967-06-28) June 28, 1967 (age 57)
Elizabeth City, North Carolina, U.S.
Career information
High school:Northeastern High School
College: Arizona
NFL draft: 1990  / Round: 1 / Pick: 11
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Sacks:57.5
Safeties:1
Games:98

Anthony Wayne Smith (born June 20, 1967) is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League and convicted murderer. He was drafted by the Raiders 11th overall in the 1990 NFL draft. [1] He played college football in Arizona and Alabama.

Contents

NFL career

On August 29, 1990, during practice, Smith tore the medial collateral ligament and cartilage in his right knee. The injury caused him to miss his entire rookie season. [2]

Following Smith's third season, he signed a four-year contract extension with the Raiders for $7.6 million. In 1997, he opted out of his contract and left the NFL. [3]

2003 firebombing charge

In 2003, Smith was charged with firebombing a Santa Monica, California, furniture store, "reportedly over a dispute with the store's owner about money and a consignment item." [3] After two juries were unable to reach a verdict in the case, a judge dismissed the charge. [3]

Murders, trials and convictions

In March 2011, Smith and two others were charged with the 2008 murder of Maurilio Ponce, who was beaten and shot in October 2008 in Lancaster, California, with his body being dumped "near the Antelope Valley poppy fields some 11 miles away." [4] Prosecutors said that the murder of Ponce, a mechanic, occurred after "a business deal gone wrong." [5]

In April 2011, the jury deadlocked in the case with a vote of 8–4 in favor of guilt. [5] In July 2012, while awaiting retrial, Smith was charged with three other killings: the 1999 murders of brothers Kevin and Ricky Nettles, who were kidnapped from a Los Angeles car wash before being shot and their bodies dumped, and the kidnapping and fatal stabbing of Dennis Henderson in Los Angeles in June 2001. [5]

On October 12, 2012, after a preliminary hearing, a Los Angeles County judge found sufficient evidence for Smith to stand trial for the four murders. [5] According to testimony at trial, Smith impersonated a police detective while abducting the Nettles, who were tortured before being murdered. [6]

On November 5, 2015, after the trial and eight days of jury deliberations, Smith was convicted of the murders of Ricky and Kevin Nettles and Henderson. The jury found special circumstance — "that Smith committed kidnapping, torture and multiple murders." [3] The jury deadlocked on the count of the murder of Ponce, with a 9–3 split in favor of guilty verdict. [3]

On January 22, 2016, Smith was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences, without the possibility of parole. [7]

Personal life

Smith has been married three times. His second wife was former singer–actress Denise Matthews, better known as Vanity. The marriage lasted for a year, from 1995 to 1996. [8] In 1997, Smith was arrested for domestic violence involving another woman and sentenced to anger-management classes. In 1997, he met his current wife Teresa Obello White. [9]

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References

  1. ↑ "1990 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Raider Top Draft Pick Smith is Sidelined by Knee Injury". Los Angeles Times . August 31, 1990.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Veronica Rocha, Former Raiders player Anthony Wayne Smith convicted in 3 murders, Los Angeles Times (November 5, 2015).
  4. ↑ Anthony Smith charged with murder, Associated Press (March 5, 2011).
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Ex-Raider Ordered to Stand Trial for 4 Murders". Associated Press. October 13, 2012.
  6. ↑ Ann M. Simmons, Details of slayings recalled at football player's hearing, Los Angeles Times (October 14, 2012).
  7. ↑ Veronica Rocha, Former Raiders player Anthony Wayne Smith sentenced to 3 life terms for murders, Los Angeles Times (January 22, 2016).
  8. ↑ "Jet". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company: 14. July 6, 1978. ISSN   0021-5996 . Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  9. ↑ Dobie, Kathy (January 23, 2013). "Ex-Raider Anthony Smith's Murder Trial and Violent Past". GQ.
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