Current:Home > FinanceMan who shot ex-Saints star Will Smith faces sentencing for manslaughter -Core Financial Strategies
Man who shot ex-Saints star Will Smith faces sentencing for manslaughter
View
Date:2025-04-16 14:39:10
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The man who fatally shot retired NFL star Will Smith during a confrontation following a car crash in 2016 is scheduled for sentencing Thursday in a New Orleans courtroom.
It’s the second time Cardell Hayes, 36, has faced sentencing in Smith’s death. He was convicted of manslaughter in December 2016 and later sentenced to 25 years. But the jury vote had been 10-2 and the conviction was later tossed after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed such non-unanimous verdicts.
Hayes was released on bond after having served more than four years of the original sentence. He remained free during multiple retrial delays, some due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But he was taken back into custody following the unanimous Jan. 27 verdict and has been awaiting sentencing at the New Orleans jail.
Smith was shot eight times — seven times in the back — during a confrontation with Hayes that happened after Hayes’ SUV struck the rear of Smith’s vehicle.
Hayes has long said he fired in self-defense. He said he fired only because he believed a drunken and belligerent Smith had retrieved a gun from his SUV. He insisted on the stand that he heard a “pop” before he started shooting and that he did not shoot at Smith’s wife, Racquel, who was hit in the legs.
Evidence showed Smith was intoxicated at the time of the confrontation. But there was no witness or forensic evidence to back up Hayes’ claim that Smith had wielded or fired a weapon. At the January retrial, defense attorney John Fuller did not call Hayes to testify, but insisted prosecutors had failed to prove Hayes didn’t fire in self-defense.
The overturned verdicts from the 2016 jury also included an attempted manslaughter conviction in the wounding of Racquel Smith. Hayes was acquitted of that charge at January’s second trial.
Smith, a 34-year-old father of three, was a defensive leader on the Saints team that lifted spirits in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005. He helped carry the team to a winning season in 2006 and a Super Bowl victory in 2010.
Hayes, who owned a tow truck business, once played semi-pro football and is the father of a young son.
veryGood! (58)
Related
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Victim of Green River serial killer identified after 4 decades as teen girl who ran away from home
- In 2023, opioid settlement funds started being paid out. Here's how it's going
- How economics can help you stick to your New Year's resolution
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- ICHCOIN Trading Center: Seizing Early Bull Market Opportunities
- Newly released video shows how police moved through UNLV campus in response to reports of shooting
- Dollarizing Argentina
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Timothée Chalamet Addresses His Buzz-Worthy Date Night With Kylie Jenner at Beyoncé Concert
Ranking
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Custom made by Tulane students, mobility chairs help special needs toddlers get moving
- Two railroad crossings are temporarily closed in Texas. Will there be a significant impact on trade?
- Methamphetamine, fentanyl drive record homeless deaths in Portland, Oregon, annual report finds
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- New lawsuit against the US by protesters alleges negligence, battery in 2020 clashes in Oregon
- Taylor Swift’s new romance, debt-erasing gifts and the eclipse are among most joyous moments of 2023
- Former City of Jackson employee gets probation for wire fraud scheme
Recommendation
Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
A deal on US border policy is closer than it seems. Here’s how it is shaping up and what’s at stake
ICHCOIN Trading Center: Cryptocurrency value stabilizer
Bus crash kills player, assistant coach in Algerian soccer’s top league, matches postponed
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
Oregon appeals court finds the rules for the state’s climate program are invalid
Dunkin' employees in Texas threatened irate customer with gun, El Paso police say
Stock market today: Asian shares fall as Wall Street retreats, ending record-setting rally