Former Saints DE Will Smith Shot Dead

[Cherry 1,302]

I think it's a bit of an over-the-top punishment. Physically torturing people is against human rights. Public executions maybe as a social embarrassment would work. Gotta be somewhat humane though.

[oochymp 2,393]

Sean Payton of New Orleans Saints rails on gun laws after Will Smith's death

Sean Payton expressed strong anti-gun opinions in an interview with USA Today Sports on Monday, less than two days after the fatal shooting of former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith.

Describing himself as "leaning to the right on some issues," the Saints coach emphatically stressed he is not in favor of current gun laws in the United States, specifically in Louisiana.

"I hate guns," Payton told USA Today Sports.

Smith, 34, was killed Saturday after being involved in a minor traffic accident in New Orleans. Police have arrested Cardell Hayes, 28, and charged him with second-degree murder.

"I've heard people argue that everybody needs a gun," Payton said. "That's madness. I know there are many kids who grow up in a hunting environment. I get that. But there are places, like England, where even the cops don't have guns."

Payton, who lives in New Orleans' Garden District, also railed against the overall violence in the city, saying, "our city is broken."

He was later joined in this chorus by the coach of the city's NBA team, the New Orleans Pelicans.

"I don't want to have what happened the other night, in the Will Smith situation, taint everything about this city," coach Alvin Gentry said Monday night before the Pelicans' game against the visiting Chicago Bulls. "It was a senseless thing. It was ridiculous. The whole gun thing makes me sick to my stomach.

"We have to find a way to eliminate such senseless violence in our city. It's a great city," Gentry added. "There's no reason for things like that to happen. If you ask me about guns, I'm totally against them. I just think it's a sad thing."

Police said Smith and Hayes argued after Smith's Mercedes was rear-ended by Hayes' Hummer. According to police, Hayes shot Smith and his wife, Racquel, who was taken to a hospital with a leg wound.

Payton, who was Smith's coach with the Saints from 2006 to 2013, went to the accident scene early Saturday morning and also joined Smith's family at the hospital.

The flags at the Saints' facility were at half-staff Monday in memory of Will Smith, who was shot and killed two days earlier. New Orleans Saints

He told USA Today Sports that he researched the handgun that Hayes allegedly used to shoot Smith and his wife, saying, "this thing just stops people."

"It was a large caliber gun. A .45," Payton told USA Today Sports. "It was designed back during World War I. And this thing just stops people. It will kill someone within four or five seconds after they are struck. You bleed out. After the first shot, he took three more in his back. ... We could go online and get 10 of them and have them shipped to our house tomorrow.

"I don't believe that was the intention when they allowed for the right for citizens to bear arms."

Payton, 52, has been the Saints' head coach since 2006 and has lived in various New Orleans communities ever since. He lamented recent budget reductions in the city's law enforcement but also cited extensive gun violence in New Orleans' less affluent areas.

"We don't hear this noise when something happens in New Orleans East or in the Lower 9," he said. "Now you creep into the Garden District ... I just know this: Our city is broken."

Gentry also issued condolences and get-well wishes to Smith's wife and family.

"For us, it's part of our family, because you take the Pelicans and you take the Saints and we're all a part of the family," Gentry said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to his wife -- and I hope that she has a speedy recovery -- and then I think we all need to pray for the kids. And hopefully that doesn't define us as a city, because this is a great place to live and got so many great people that are so caring, that that's not who we are here."

I can't say he's wrong

Edited April 12, 2016 by oochymp

[FartWaffles 1,857]

[oochymp 2,393]

Video Captures Aftermath of Football Player Will Smith's Killing - Yahoo

The deadly shooting began when Smith, a former New Orleans Saints star, was rear-ended while driving in New Orleans's Lower Garden District, causing him to hit a vehicle in front of him, police said. The driver of the vehicle that hit Smith, identified by police as Cardell Hayes, then "exchanged words" with Smith, police said.

Hayes, 28, then drew a handgun and shot Smith several times, police said.

Will Smith Shooting Aftermath Caught on VideoPlay videoWill Smith Shooting Aftermath Caught on Video

How Former Cop Is Connected to Slain NFL Star Will Smith and His Alleged Shooter

Super Bowl Winner Will Smith Shot, Killed in New Orleans; Suspect Arrested

Hayes stayed at the scene, police said, and was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

On Sunday, a judge set bond for Hayes at $1 million. He did not enter a plea.

John Fuller, Hayes' attorney, said Monday that his client felt threatened and plans to plead not guilty. He also said that Hayes did not know the victim.

View galleryVideo Captures Aftermath of Football Player Will Smith's …

Video Captures Aftermath of Football Player Will Smith's Killing (ABC News)

"It would be safe to say that not only did my client feel threatened but citizens that were out there in that block felt threatened as well and I think the unearthing of a second gun will lend itself to the defense of Mr. Hayes," Fuller said.

"I believe the evidence will support that my client is legally not guilty."

On Sunday, he said: "not only did my client call 911, but my client secured a witness who was about to leave the scene and my client waited for law enforcement to arrive."

Fuller said Hayes was the victim of a hit-and-run just moments before he crashed into Smith's car and was chasing the cars to get their license plate numbers. He said Hayes called 911 to report the hit-and-run before the accident with Smith.

 

this case could get interesting

[FartWaffles 1,857]

If Smith pulled out a gun, that would be disappointing. Why fire at his wife though? Maybe the shooter thought she was going to grab the gun?

 

Interested to see when the full details will come out.

[oochymp 2,393]

If Smith pulled out a gun, that would be disappointing. Why fire at his wife though? Maybe the shooter thought she was going to grab the gun?

 

Interested to see when the full details will come out.

He might not have meant to shoot her, stray bullets are entirely possible, maybe even likely depending on their positioning. I'm sure it'll be a while before we (the general public) know full details, if we ever do, but based on the attorney's statements it sounds like this will go to trial.

[oochymp 2,393]

Surveillance video shows hit-and-run possibly involving Will Smith before former New Orleans Saints player's death

11:57 AM ET ESPN.com news services

Surveillance video from a New Orleans restaurant appears to show a hit-and-run incident between two vehicles matching the descriptions of those driven by former Saints player Will Smith and Cardell Hayes minutes before Smith was shot and killed on Saturday.

The video, which was broadcast Tuesday by ABC's "Good Morning America," appears to show a Mercedes SUV bump the rear of a Hummer near the intersection of Magazine Street and St. Andrew Street, approximately two blocks from where Hayes is accused of shooting and killing Smith around 11:30 p.m. ET.

Smith drove a Mercedes G63 SUV on Saturday night, while Hayes drove a Hummer H2, New Orleans police said.

The surveillance video appears to show the Mercedes bump the Hummer at 11:21 p.m. As the Hummer begins to pull over to the side of the road, the Mercedes veers into the opposite lane before driving away. The Hummer immediately pursues the Mercedes onto Sophie Wright Place; according to New Orleans police, Smith was shot two blocks away near the intersection of Sophie Wright Place and Felicity Street, which is a five-point intersection.

 

that's not the full article and the link has a video attached

[Vin+ 3,121]

 

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/04/will_smith_death_loaded_handgu.html

 

A fully loaded 9 mm handgun was found inside Will Smith's Mercedes-Benz SUV, New Orleans police said Tuesday, three days after the former Saints defensive end was shot and killed following a three-car crash in the Lower Garden District.

Investigators found no evidence to suggest the gun was fired, and police did not say if the weapon belonged to Smith or another person inside the car the night of his death.

 

An attorney for Cardell Hayes, the man arrested at the scene and charged with shooting Smith, has insisted since Sunday that a second weapon other than his client's was present at the crime scene.

 

Police on Tuesday also said a fully loaded revolver was also found inside the Hummer H2 driven by Hayes, 28. But shell casings and ballistic evidence recovered at the scene indicate the revolver was also not fired, NOPD said. Police did not say who owned the revolver.

 

All shell casings recovered from the scene matched a .45-caliber handgun authorities believe Hayes used to kill Smith around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, following a three-vehicle accident at Sophie Wright Place and Felicity Street in the Lower Garden District.

 

 

More stuff in the link too.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

So... Smith hit Hayes, then drove off. Hayes went to get his plate number, confrontation ensued where both men had guns and somebody wound up dead?

Interesting to say the least.

[Bucman 891]

This story is do weird. I don't think we are hearing the entire thing

[Vin+ 3,121]

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/story.asp?i=20170421044652005623908&ref=hea&tm=&src=

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Calling it a "profoundly sad and tragic" case, a judge sentenced a 29-year-old New Orleans man to 25 years in prison for killing former Saints star Will Smith and wounding Smith's wife after an April 2016 traffic crash.

Thursday's sentencing by Louisiana Judge Camille Buras was the culmination of a case that riveted the city for more than a year. It capped two days of shattering, sad and sometimes bitter pre-sentence testimony: from Smith's widow, sister and Saints coach Sean Payton among others on Wednesday; from shooter Cardell Hayes, his mother, friends and loved ones on Thursday.

Hayes had faced up to 60 years if given consecutive maximum terms for manslaughter and attempted manslaughter, as prosecutors had urged. Instead, Buras gave him 15 years for shooting Racquel Smith in the legs, to be served at the same time as the manslaughter sentence.

Hayes, who was unwavering in insisting his life was in danger when he shot Smith, will get a year of credit for the time he's already served since shooting one of the city's sports heroes. State law requires him to serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for good-behavior release, meaning he could be freed in roughly 20 years.

"If he was sentenced to 60 years he probably could have died in jail. At least with 25 he has the opportunity to be reunited with his family," said Hayes' lawyer, John Fuller, speaking outside court.

 

....

The night of the shooting, Smith was driving with his wife and another couple. They were among a group of friends in several cars. Surveillance video showed his Mercedes possibly bumping Hayes' Hummer, then driving off.

Hayes followed them, and slammed into Smith's SUV. Both hulky former athletes then got out and argued in the street.

Hayes said he repeatedly shot Smith in fear for his life, but no other witness or evidence supported his belief that Smith fired a weapon. Smith's gun was found in his car, loaded but unused.

Smith was hit eight times - seven in the back and once in the side. His wife was hit in the legs.

A pathologist determined Smith was legally drunk. The ex-player had spent time at the city's annual French Quarter Festival, a bar and two restaurants.

Hayes' defense said after the trial that Smith's popularity led to a rush to judgment by police and prosecutors. Prosecutors countered that the defense was trying to smear Smith. The judge ultimately rejected a defense motion for a retrial.