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Thread: Former New Orleans Saints DE Will Smith (34) shot dead

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    Moderator puzzld's Avatar
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    Former New Orleans Saints DE Will Smith (34) shot dead

    Will Smith, a nine-year NFL veteran, first-round pick, Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion, was shot and killed late Saturday night following a traffic accident in New Orleans that brought the NFL community to tears Sunday morning. He was 34 years old.

    Smith's wife, Racquel, was also shot and was taken to the hospital. The couple had three children, William, Wynter and Lisa.

    "Heavy Hearts with the senseless passing of our Team Capt. Will Smith," Saints head coach Sean Payton posted on Twitter Sunday. "Pray for his wife's recovery and their children."

    "Our thoughts and prayers are with Will and his wife Racquel, but more importantly with their children, William, Wynter and Lisa who are suffering and just starting to realize and deal with an unimaginable loss," said Saints owners Tom and Gayle Benson. "We are devastated and saddened by Will's tragic and preventable death due to a senseless act that will leave a lasting scar on our community forever. Will was more than an exceptional football player he was a father, a husband, a son, a brother and teammate to so many and an inspiration to countless more. He will be greatly missed by all those he touched and impacted both on and off the football field and his legacy will continue to shine. The Saints family is hurting and devastated as it has lost a member too young and too soon."

    The family also released a statement: "On behalf of the Smith family, we are thankful for the outpouring of support and prayers. We ask that you continue to respect the family's privacy as they grieve the loss of a devoted husband, father and friend."

    According to New Orleans Police, Smith was driving east on Sophie Wright Place when he was struck from behind by an orange Hummer H2. Smith's vehicle then struck the car in front of theirs as well. Police say Smith and the driver of the Hummer "exchanged words," before the driver of the Hummer pulled out a gun and shot Smith multiple times.

    Smith's wife was shot twice in the leg.

    The driver of the Hummer, Cardell Hayes, 30, has been booked with second degree murder.

    The grim news stunned both the NFL community and the surrounding New Orleans area. Smith played his entire career with the Saints and helped propel the team to a healing Super Bowl victory in 2009 after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area.

    "A senseless and tragic loss," Greg Bensel, the team's head of communications, posted on Twitter Sunday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Will Smith -- his wife Racquel -- his children William, Wynter and Lisa."

    "Devastated," said Saints running back Mark Ingram. "Lord please be with the Smith family at this tragic time. Nonsense man ..."

    "Pray for my friend's family, pray for his teammates," former Saints running back Deuce Mcallister said. "So senseless. Rest in peace Will."

    "We're praying for the Smith family," Jermon Bushrod said. "I'm hurt to hear about this news. This man had a beautiful family. His life taken away for nothing."

    Smith was born on the fourth of July in 1981 to parents William and Lisa Smith. He was a standout at Proctor High School in Utica, New York and went on to Ohio State, where he was a dominant pass rusher for the Buckeyes.

    He was selected No. 18 overall in a 2004 draft class that will be remembered as one of the deepest in modern NFL history, netting 15 Pro Bowl players in the first round alone. Smith had 33 1/2 sacks in his first four seasons alone, before logging a career-high 13 sacks during the team?€™s Super Bowl run in 2009.

    Smith's career cannot be measured by box scores alone, though. For as many sacks as he had, there were countless forced fumbles, key downfield blocks and deflected passes. He became the first player in franchise history to force a fumble in five straight games back in 2005.

    Smith will also be known for his charitable efforts outside of the game. His foundation, Where There's a Will There's a Way, helps provide opportunities for women and children.
    http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...522-sf24071522
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    Moderator Bewitchingstorm's Avatar
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    Very tragic.
    Last edited by Bewitchingstorm; 04-11-2016 at 01:51 PM.

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    http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/...with_seco.html
    Cardell Hayes was booked on second-degree murder Sunday (April 10) in the shooting death of former Saints defensive end Will Smith, police said.

    Smith, 34, was shot to death inside a Mercedes SUV in the Lower Garden District around 11:30 p.m. in an apparent road rage episode, New Orleans police said. The shooter was the driver of a Hummer H2 that careened into the back of Smith's SUV at Sophie Wright Place and Felicity Street, police said.

    The two men "exchanged words" before the driver of the Hummer pulled out a gun and began firing, police said. Witnesses reported hearing six to eight shots.

    Hayes, 28, was booked into Orleans Parish Prison around 8 a.m. Sunday, records show. Police had taken a suspected shooter into custody at the scene Saturday night.

    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
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    At what point does someone get angry enough to shoot people after a traffic accident?
    WTF!?! Absolute insanity.

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    Cousin Greg Angiebla's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gemini View Post
    At what point does someone get angry enough to shoot people after a traffic accident?
    WTF!?! Absolute insanity.
    People with road rage that are trigger happy. I get frustrated sometimes driving, but never do I think "hey this person is pissing me off, I should shoot them!" These people who act on emotion shouldn't own a gun.

    "The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man" -Charles Darwin

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angiebla View Post
    People with road rage that are trigger happy. I get frustrated sometimes driving, but never do I think "hey this person is pissing me off, I should shoot them!" These people who act on emotion shouldn't own a gun.
    True, true. I get annoyed behind the wheel, but not to the point I want to inflict death or serious injury on people.

    I just find it all a bit bizarre, but then I live in a country where we are not allowed guns and traffic accidents *shrugs* that's what insurance is there for.

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    Moderator puzzld's Avatar
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    The man accused of killing Will Smith and wounding his wife, Racquel, is a former New Orleans prep football star.

    Cardell A. Hayes, who uses the nickname "Bear" on his Facebook page, was charged Sunday with second-degree murder and is accused of fatally shooting Smith after a car accident in the Lower Garden District.

    Hayes was a football player at Warren Easton High School in 2004 and was ranked among the top prospects in Louisiana.

    He played football for the Crescent City Kings, a local developmental team, in 2015.

    The team released a statement Sunday expressing sadness at Smith's death and pledging full cooperation with law enforcement.

    On Saturday night, police say, Hayes was driving a Hummer H2 that struck the back bumper of Smith's Mercedes on Camp Street in the Lower Garden District. What led to the subsequent violence is unclear. Smith's body was left slumped over the steering column in the driver's seat. His wife was injured and transported to the hospital.

    Hayes did not flee the scene and was detained by police and taken in for questioning.
    New Orleans police superintendent talks about the Will Smith shooting Michael Harrison, the New Orleans Superintendent of Police, talks about the shooting of former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith.

    Although Hayes' Facebook page lists him as a University of New Orleans student, a UNO spokesperson said Hayes has never been enrolled at the school at any time.

    Most of Hayes' public posts are about his hobby of breeding pit bulls.

    It's not clear where Hayes ultimately played college football, if he did so at all. His freshman year would have been 2005, which was disrupted by Hurricane Katrina and the death of his father, who was shot by NOPD officers not far from where Saturday's shooting occurred.

    http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf...g_suspect.html
    Last edited by puzzld; 04-10-2016 at 07:19 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
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    Senior Member bermstalker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gemini View Post
    At what point does someone get angry enough to shoot people after a traffic accident?
    WTF!?! Absolute insanity.
    When you have people with serious anger issues.

    I hit a guy's car in the mall parking lot a few months ago (it's debatable on if it was my fault or his tho) When I got out to check on the damage to both vehicles, he also got out. He started screaming like a complete LOON. I told him to calm down, that I had insurance. It didn't matter. He started kicking his own car and picking up pieces of the broken light and throwing them around. For real. He lost his f'ing mind. It was so bad that atleast 3 people in the parking lot called 911. Cops don't usually come to parking lot accidents (they just tell you to exchange information) but it was bad enough that the 911 operator heard his cussing. 911 asked me if I felt safe exchanging information with him. LOL. NO.
    He was still raging when the cops got there. They had to tell him to calm down.

    That man's anger was so over the top that I can totally see him shooting somebody.

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    Former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith was shot in the back and side, according to a warrant read in court Sunday night before a magistrate set a $1 million bond for the man accused of killing him.

    Police said Smith, 34, was killed in a case of road rage by a man who had rear-ended his car. They arrested Cardell Hayes, 28, on a charge of second-degree murder. Prosecutors have 60 days to decide whether to bring that charge against Hayes.

    Hayes' Humvee H2 rear-ended Smith's Mercedes G63 around 11:30 p.m. Saturday in the upscale Lower Garden District, pushing it into a Chevrolet Impala driven by two of Smith's acquaintances. The two argued, and Hayes shot both Smith and Smith's wife, Racquel, police said. She was taken to a hospital with a leg wound.

    USA TODAY

    Police still investigating motive behind Will Smith's shooting death

    Defense attorney John Fuller asked for low bond Sunday night, noting that Hayes had waited for police, owns a towing business and is raising his 5-year-old son.

    Magistrate Brigid Collins said she understood but, according to the warrant, "I've also got a gentleman who was shot in the back."

    Smith and his wife, who have three children, had been at the French Quarter festival, which features local music and food, in the hours before the shooting. He posted a photo of himself and his wife on Twitter and Instagram with the caption: "Having a blast at the #fqf2016 @ French Quarter Fest."

    Hayes and Smith didn't know each other, Fuller said. But, he said outside the courthouse, the accident that police said touched off the deadly confrontation was the second within moments.

    He said Hayes ran into the back of Smith's Mercedes while following a hit-and-run driver who had rear-ended his Humvee and sped off. Fuller wouldn't say whether Hayes identified the Mercedes as that vehicle.

    Hayes is not guilty of murder, and the story is more complex than the police account, Fuller said after the hearing. He said Hayes called 911 after he was hit and convinced a witness who was about to leave to remain and talk to police.

    USA TODAY

    Will Smith's alleged killer was 'good person,' 'leader,' say coaches

    Police spokesman Tyler Gamble told The Associated Press in an email Sunday that he had no immediate information about the witness or the 911 call.

    Online court records show Hayes pleaded guilty in 2014 to one count each of possessing an illegal weapon and possessing drug paraphernalia.

    The gun he had Sunday was legal, Fuller said, noting that police didn't accuse him of any weapons charge. Gamble said the gun hadn't been reported stolen, but tracing its actual history takes more time.

    Hayes sued the New Orleans Police Department and six officers after police killed his father in 2005. Police settled the lawsuit in 2011. The settlement is confidential, said attorney Ike Spears, who represented Hayes in that lawsuit.

    Smith was beloved by fans for his role in New Orleans' 2009 Super Bowl championship, though the defensive captain also was at the center of the NFL's bounty probe in 2012, the last year he played in an NFL regular season game.

    The league concluded that Smith and fellow defensive captain Jonathan Vilma helped run a locker-room pool that paid cash bonuses for heavy and even injurious hits.

    Smith successfully appealed a four-game suspension, though coach Sean Payton was suspended the entire 2012 season.

    A year earlier, however, Smith served a two-game suspension for using a weight-loss product that included a diuretic banned by the league for masking steroid use.

    Smith, a native of Queens, New York, played for Ohio State's 2002 national championship team and graduated in 2005 with a degree in criminology.

    New Orleans chose him in the first round of the 2004 draft. He led the Saints with a career-high 13 sacks in 2009. Smith's 67 ? career sacks rank fourth in Saints history. The New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame says Smith had been unanimously voted into the hall last month.

    Off the field, Smith established a foundation "to motivate, educate and provide opportunities for women and children."

    The Smith family said in a statement Sunday that they were thankful for the outpouring of support but requested privacy as they grieve.
    http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...orso/82883224/
    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
    lol at Nestle being some vicious smiter, she's the nicest person on this site besides probably puzzld. Or at least the last person to resort to smiting.
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    Quote Originally Posted by bermstalker View Post
    When you have people with serious anger issues.

    I hit a guy's car in the mall parking lot a few months ago (it's debatable on if it was my fault or his tho) When I got out to check on the damage to both vehicles, he also got out. He started screaming like a complete LOON. I told him to calm down, that I had insurance. It didn't matter. He started kicking his own car and picking up pieces of the broken light and throwing them around. For real. He lost his f'ing mind. It was so bad that atleast 3 people in the parking lot called 911. Cops don't usually come to parking lot accidents (they just tell you to exchange information) but it was bad enough that the 911 operator heard his cussing. 911 asked me if I felt safe exchanging information with him. LOL. NO.
    He was still raging when the cops got there. They had to tell him to calm down.

    That man's anger was so over the top that I can totally see him shooting somebody.
    That sounds awful Berm, I'm glad you are OK and I'm also glad other people called the police for you.

    I suppose I'm not explaining myself too well, I just can't imagine losing my shit over a car accident.

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    Moderator Bewitchingstorm's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bermstalker View Post
    When you have people with serious anger issues.

    I hit a guy's car in the mall parking lot a few months ago (it's debatable on if it was my fault or his tho) When I got out to check on the damage to both vehicles, he also got out. He started screaming like a complete LOON. I told him to calm down, that I had insurance. It didn't matter. He started kicking his own car and picking up pieces of the broken light and throwing them around. For real. He lost his f'ing mind. It was so bad that atleast 3 people in the parking lot called 911. Cops don't usually come to parking lot accidents (they just tell you to exchange information) but it was bad enough that the 911 operator heard his cussing. 911 asked me if I felt safe exchanging information with him. LOL. NO.
    He was still raging when the cops got there. They had to tell him to calm down.

    That man's anger was so over the top that I can totally see him shooting somebody.
    Dang, Berm. That is scary.

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    Moderator Bewitchingstorm's Avatar
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    Here is the correct FB for Cardell: https://www.facebook.com/bear.hayes.5?ref=br_rs

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    Sana sana colita de rana beli's Avatar
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    Will Smith (r.) with former New Orleans police officer Billy Ceravolo (l.) and former Saints player Pierrer Thomas (c.), at dinner about an hour before Smith's death.




    Will with his wife Racquel

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    In all fairness, we have no idea how big this dude's cock was.

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    Sana sana colita de rana beli's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gawna View Post
    Roses are red, violets are blue, seriously where is the fucking ring I gave Julie and ask her mom about the flowers
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron_NYC View Post
    In all fairness, we have no idea how big this dude's cock was.

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    Senior Member bermstalker's Avatar
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    Sounds like the guy in the hummer "brake checked" Smith's car. Smith hit the hummer and didn't pull over instead drove around it and went down the road. Hummer dude was pissed and followed....then hit Smith's car from behind.

    I don't think there is a big conspiracy here...just classic road rage.

    (quote from raisedbywolves' link above)
    The footage shows a Mercedes SUV trailing a Hummer, until the latter vehicle stops abruptly. The Mercedes pulls up quickly too, possibly hitting it from behind. Both vehicles are a standstill briefly, until the Hummer starts to pull over; the Mercedes, though, goes around and drives off.
    A short distance away and a short time later, according to police, an altercation occurred between Smith, in a Mercedes G63 SUV, and Cardell Hayes, in a Hummer H2. This time, it was the Mercedes that was rear-ended, police said.
    But Hayes didn't drive off.
    And Smith ended up dead.
    'Six gun wounds to the chest'
    Hayes' lawyer insists his client wasn't the aggressor in the incident but the victim of a hit-and-run.
    "Someone hit him, the person failed to pull over," the attorney, John Fuller, told reporters. "My client trailed behind this person in an effort to get this license plate number. My client also called 911."

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    Senior Member bermstalker's Avatar
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    DBL post.
    Last edited by bermstalker; 04-13-2016 at 02:24 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bermstalker View Post
    Sounds like the guy in the hummer "brake checked" Smith's car. Smith hit the hummer and didn't pull over instead drove around it and went down the road. Hummer dude was pissed and followed....then hit Smith's car from behind.

    I don't think there is a big conspiracy here...just classic road rage.

    (quote from raisedbywolves' link above)
    I don't really believe there is a conspiracy theory...I just thought the link was interesting.

    I do however believe that Smith was road ragey and pulled a gun too.

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    Senior Member bermstalker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by raisedbywolves View Post
    I don't really believe there is a conspiracy theory...I just thought the link was interesting.

    I do however believe that Smith was road ragey and pulled a gun too.
    Sorry. Didn't mean you believed that. ive seen it mentioned everywhere.
    You're probably right about smith pulling a gun, too. Wasn't there an article somewhere that mentioned there was a gun in smith's car?

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    Scoopski Potatoes Nic B's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bermstalker View Post
    Sorry. Didn't mean you believed that. ive seen it mentioned everywhere.
    You're probably right about smith pulling a gun, too. Wasn't there an article somewhere that mentioned there was a gun in smith's car?
    Yes. I saw a video of right after it happened (on TMZ) and a witness said they heard Smith tell Hayes he was going to get his gun, and that it is supposedly when Hayes pulled his gun and shot Smith. The fact that Smith had a gun in his car makes me think Hayes might get a lesser sentence. I mean, is he supposed to wait until Smith actually has a gun in his hand to shoot? I think so, because Smith didn't actually have a gun in his hand and could have been bluffing to scare him.

    Overall, this was horrible road rage between two angry people.


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    Moderator puzzld's Avatar
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    New Orleans judge sets sentencing for Cardell Hayes, found guilty of manslaughter in fatal shooting of Saints star Will Smith, for Feb. 17 - @DCMonteverde
    See original on twitter.com
    New Orleans, LA, US
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    Jury finds Cardell Hayes guilty of manslaughter in fatal shooting of former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith -

    http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/ne...-smith-killed/
    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
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    Moderator Bewitchingstorm's Avatar
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    I completely forgot about this case.

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    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-c...ill-rcna136024

    Man convicted of manslaughter in the killing of former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith
    A man who shot former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith following a traffic crash nearly eight years ago has been convicted of manslaughter.

    The jury deliberated for more than four hours and reached its verdict in the retrial of Cardell Hayes just after midnight Saturday, news outlets reported. He faces up to 40 years in prison.

    The jury acquitted Hayes of attempted manslaughter in the shooting and wounding of Smith’s wife during the April 2016 confrontation.

    Hayes, 36, had previously been convicted in December 2016 of manslaughter in Smith’s death and attempted manslaughter for the gunshot wounding of Racquel Smith. But the jury vote was 10-2 and the conviction was tossed after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed nonunanimous verdicts. Hayes was released on bond after having served more than four years of a 25-year sentence.
    He should have stuck with the first conviction.

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    Moderator Bewitchingstorm's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by raisedbywolves View Post
    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-c...ill-rcna136024

    Man convicted of manslaughter in the killing of former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith

    He should have stuck with the first conviction.
    Truth.

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