The Orleans Parish jury convicted Cardell Hayes guilty of manslaughter in shooting retired New Orleans Saints defender Will Smith, capping off a week-long trial for second-degree murder and other charges.
Cardell Hayes could be facing up to 40 years in prison and he will be sentenced on February 17. He was also found guilty on charges of attempted manslaughter for shooting Will Smith's wife, Raquel, in the leg. Hayes insisted that he only fired his gun because Will Smith was violent and drunk and he spotted the retired NFL star grabbing a gun. Pathologist reports did find that Smith was legally drunk when he died.
The shooting happened in April this year, with Will Smith being shot multiples time over an apparent road rage incident which might not be solely triggered by road rage at all. Moments before the ex-NFL star was killed, he dined with former New Orleans police Captain William Ceravolo and former Saints Pierre Thomas.
Ceravolo was named by Cardell Hayes in a federal lawsuit as one of the cops that shot and killed his father, Anthony. Data retrieved from the vehicles of Smith and Hayes also showed that it was an intentional crash on the part of Hayes, which he denied and said that he was in a rush to call 911 and didn't realize how close their vehicles were.
Deputies placed Cardell Hayes in handcuffs after the verdict was released. John Fuller, Hayes's attorney, said "I respect the jury's verdict, and I respect the pain both families are feeling tonight.
Raquel Smith has not made any comments so far regarding the verdict. Her lawyer declared the reason in an emailed release, stating "Because of the upcoming sentencing hearing, in which Racquel will provide a victim impact statement, she does not feel it is appropriate to comment on the facts of the case at this time. The main focus of Will Smith's family is to see Mr Hayes justly sentenced for the murder he so callously committed."
Watch the closing arguments of Cardell Hayes's trial here:
