Anthony Wayne Smith (born June 20, 1967) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

and convicted murderer. He was drafted by the Raiders 11th overall in the

1990 NFL Draft The 1990 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1990, at the Marriott Marq ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and also

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

NFL career

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.Veronica Rocha
Former Raiders player Anthony Wayne Smith convicted in 3 murders
''Los Angeles Times'' (November 5, 2015).

2003 firebombing charge

In 2003, Smith was charged with

firebombing Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire, caused by incendiary devices, rather than from the blast effect of large bombs. In popular usage, any act in which an incendiary ...

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, furniture store, "reportedly over a dispute with the store's owner about money and a consignment item." After two juries were unable to reach a verdict in the case, a judge dismissed the charge.

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 Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 173,51 ...

, with his body being dumped "near the Antelope Valley poppy fields some 11 miles away." Prosecutors said that the murder of Ponce, a mechanic, occurred after "a business deal gone wrong." In April 2011, the jury deadlocked in the case with a vote of 8-4 in favor of guilt. In July 2012, while awaiting retrial, Smith was additionally 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 2011. On October 12, 2012, after a

preliminary hearing Within some criminal justice, criminal justice systems, a preliminary hearing, preliminary examination, preliminary inquiry, evidentiary hearing or probable cause hearing is a proceeding, after a criminal complaint has been filed by the prosecuto ...

, a

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

judge found sufficient evidence for Smith to stand trial for the four murders. According to testimony at trial, Smith impersonated a police detective while abducting the Nettles, who were subsequently

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

d before being murdered. 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 also found special circumstance — "that Smith committed kidnapping, torture and multiple murders." The jury deadlocked on the count of the murder of Ponce, with a 9-3 split in favor of guilty verdict. On January 22, 2016, Smith was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences, without the possibility of parole.

Personal life

Smith has been married three times. His second wife was former singer–actress Denise Matthews, better known as

Vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic s ...

. The marriage lasted for a year, from 1995 to 1996. In 1997, Smith was arrested for

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

involving another woman and sentenced to anger-management classes. In 1997, he met his current wife Teresa Obello White.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Anthony 1967 births Alabama Crimson Tide football players American football defensive ends American people convicted of murder American serial killers American sportspeople convicted of crimes Arizona Wildcats football players Criminals from North Carolina Living people Los Angeles Raiders players Male serial killers Oakland Raiders players People convicted of murder by California People from Elizabeth City, North Carolina Players of American football from North Carolina Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by California Sportspeople convicted of murder