The murder of former New Orleans Saints defensive end sent shockwaves across the NFL, but the criminal case is just getting underway. A grand jury has formally indicted Cardell Hayes with second-degree murder for shooting Smith eight times, seven in the back, and added an attempted second-degree murder charge for the two bullets that hit Smith’s wife Raquel in the leg.
The prosecution didn’t enter any evidence at the hearing besides the police report, which contained the details of the road rage incident that preceded the shooting, as well as the autopsy that described the nature of Smith’s wounds. Apparently, that alone was enough for the grand jury to indict Hayes. The bond was set at $1.75 million, but not without a little chaos in the courtroom first:
John Fuller, the attorney for Cardell Hayes, appeared irritated prior to the hearing and then he complained that Hayes had been called to a grand jury without his knowledge. The district attorney’s office said that they had notified Fuller of their intention to honor his request to have Hayes testify before the grand jury. Fuller said he had not accepted the invite.
Hayes has pleaded not guilty, but his attorney said after the indictment that Hayes is “legally not guilty,” which is just a lawyer’s way of saying he’s going to try to get his client off on a technicality.
(Via WWL)
