Former Raiders Defensive End Convicted In Murders Of 3 Men

LANCASTER (CBSLA.com) — Former Raiders defensive end Anthony Wayne Smith was convicted Thursday of the murders of three people, and a mistrial was declared on a fourth charge stemming from the 2008 shooting death of another man.

Smith, 48, was convicted of the Nov. 10, 1999, shootings deaths of Kevin and Ricky Nettles, and the June 25, 2001, stabbing death of Dennis Henderson. Jurors deadlocked over the Oct. 7, 2008, shooting death of Maurilio Ponce, so a mistrial was declared.

Jurors also found true special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and torture, but prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

Sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 21. A hearing will also be held that day to determine whether prosecutors will re-try Smith – who faces a maximum of life in prison without parole – in the Ponce killing.

Smith's attorney, Michael S. Evans, said he plans to file a motion for a new trial.

The jury reached the verdict last Friday after deliberating for eight days, but the verdict was ordered to remain sealed until Evans and some of the jurors could return to court Thursday, according to Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The Nettles brothers were found with their heads wrapped in duct tape. Ricky Nettles' stomach had been branded with a burn in the shape of a clothing iron, according to testimony during Smith's preliminary hearing.

Smith was the Raiders' top pick in 1990 out of the University of Arizona, playing for the team in Los Angeles and Oakland between 1991 and 1997.

He has been jailed since his arrest in March 2011.

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