Former Oakland Raider Anthony Wayne Smith pleads not guilty to 2008 murder charges
Anthony Wayne Smith, former defensive end for the Oakland Raiders, pleaded not guilty to murder charges on Tuesday May 10, 2011.
Smith and two other men were charged with murder on March 4, 2011 for the death of Maurilio Ponce which occurred on October 7, 2008. Police said that Ponce was shot several times and severely beaten, after which his body was dumped in a Antelope Valley poppy
field in Lancaster, California, located about 70 miles away from Los Angeles.
Investigators initially brought forth the charges on February 16 but they were announced in March after all three men involved were arrested. Aside from 43-year old Smith, 32-year old Bloomington resident Dewann White and 41-year old Charles Honest were
also charged with murder and all three pleaded not guilty.
Smith, of Fontana, California, initially appeared in court on March 3 and the bail of all three men was set at $1 million each, according to district attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons.
With Smith’s arraignment pushed to March 17, police revealed that in Torrance, California in 1996, Honest was convicted of manslaughter. The public defender’s office did not comment on the case and all three of the convicted felons will most likely have
attorneys appointed by the court.
Smith’s residence was in Marina Del Rey, California at the time of the murders and he played for the Raiders as defensive end from 1991 to 1997, joining them when they were still the Los Angeles Raiders. He was picked in the first round, overall pick number
11, of the 1990 National Football League (NFL) Draft by the Raiders out of the University of Arizona and the University of Alabama.
He played in 98 games with the Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders, starting in 49 of them. The six-foot three-inch, 265 pound defensive end from Elizabeth City, North Carolina played with the Raiders from the age of 24 to 30. In his first year, he started in
two of the 16 games that he played in, recording 10.5 sacks and recovering one fumble. In his second year, 1992, Smith recorded 13 sacks, six forced fumbles and 31 tackles in 15 games, only one of which he started.
In 1993, Smiths started in two games of 16 played and recorded 12.5 sacks, one forced fumble and 52 tackles. In 1994, the last year that the Raiders were in Los Angeles, Smith started in all 16 games of the season but recorded only six sacks, one recovered
fumble that he returned 25 yards for a touchdown and 42 tackles, 13 of which were assisted.
The Raiders then moved to Oakland in 1995, with Smith starting in 28 of the 35 games that he played in. He recorded a total of 15.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries returned for a total of seven yards, 73 tackles and one safety from 1995
to 1997.
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