Anthony Smith: Ex-Raider Gets Life In Prison
Ex-Raider football player Anthony Smith will spend the rest of his life behind bars. He was sentenced to life last Friday in a California courtroom to three consecutive life sentences.
My News LA reports that a Los Angeles jury found Smith found guilty last November for the November 10, 1999, murders of two brothers, Kevin and Ricky Nettles. The brothers were kidnapped outside of a Los Angeles car wash. Smith was also convicted last year for the June 25, 2001, murder of Dennis Henderson, who was found in a car, stabbed to death, in Watts.
Former Raiders DL Anthony Smith receives life sentence for murder https://t.co/jTN75kxlS0 pic.twitter.com/wJk4ppqizQ
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) January 23, 2016
Smith was also accused of a 4th murder: the October 7, 2008, shooting of Maurilio Ponce, who was found dead in the Antelope Valley poppy fields, close to Lancaster. Yet, Superior Court Judge Daviann L. Mitchell dismissed the charge after prosecutors changed their mind on retrying Smith for murder. The news came after a jury deadlocked during the previous trial.
During the time Smith was waiting for a retrial on the Ponce case, he was charged with the other three murders.
ESPN reports that during the 1999 murders of the Nettles brothers, Smith pretended to be a police officer and took both brothers from their car wash business on Vernon Avenue, as they were closing up for the day. Smith first pointed a gun at Kevin Nettles, handcuffed him, and ordered him outside, then handcuffed Ricky Nettles. Both brothers were placed in the back of a sedan and driven away.
Ricky Nettles was found on a street in Compton with his head duct taped, an iron burn mark on his stomach, and multiple gunshot wounds to his body. Kevin Nettles was found eight miles away from his brother, also with his head duct taped and with multiple gunshot wounds to his body.
Smith didn’t make any comments during his sentencing, but Judge Mitchell berated him for acting cold and basically throwing his life away.
“I don’t know what motivated you … It was almost as if you were cold and insensitive. That’s four separate murders.”
Ricky Nettles’ son, Dashan, also spoke during Smith’s sentencing. While facing the judge, Dashan told her that he can still remember his father being taken from him “like it was yesterday.”
Ex-Raiders player Anthony Wayne Smith was convicted of my dad and uncle's murder #justice #justiceserved #Raiders #murdercase
— Dashan Nettles (@dashannettles) November 5, 2015
“Unfortunately my father and my uncle were taken from me when I was 13 years old … I could remember it like it was yesterday. It brought so many emotions back being here for the trial. Last time I saw a photo of him just happened to be here in court, and they were pretty bad photos.”
Jovana Nettles, the sister of the victims, decided to speak directly to Smith during his sentencing. She indicated to Smith that he was a coward since he never came forward with the truth.
“The questions we have you may never be man enough to answer, so I’m not going to ask why. You tortured them. You threw them out like trash … You have hurt this family tremendously.”
Anthony Smith plans to appeal his life sentence, according to his attorney, Michael S. Evans. Evans requested that his client’s two life sentences run concurrently instead of consecutively, but the request was denied.
[Photo by Brian van der Brug/Contributor/Getty Images]
