Raiders DE Smith's Story Ended Tragically
Defensive end Anthony Smith is one of the tragic stories in the history of the Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders.
The Los Angeles Raiders selected the 6-3 265-pound Smith with the 11th overall pick of the 1990 National Football League Draft out of Arizona, and he played a strong eight seasons with the Silver and Black.
The Raiders recognized Smith as a remarkable pass rusher right away.
“Anthony showed his wares in training camp,” future Hall of Fame wide receiver Tim Brown said. “First of all, he was there every day. And he just went out and worked his butt off. He never complained about anything and accepted his role.
“Any time you do that, guys are going to respect you.”
In his rookie season, Smith notched an impressive 10.5 sacks. He supported that with back-to-back double-digit sack totals of 13 and 12.5, respectively, in the next two seasons. After his first three seasons, he received a big-money contract extension which some said was the source of Smith’s downfall.
Throughout his 98 games with the Raiders, Smith finished with 57.5 sacks, 228 tackles, and 11 forced fumbles. He was a wrecking ball that left destruction in his wake and was undoubtedly one of the most dominant pass rushers the Raiders have ever had.
However, Smith’s sullen demeanor was a problem for his teammates, and in 1997, he disappeared, leaving the team for two days, his second disappearance in two seasons, and he was suspended for four games.
“It’s hard,” Raiders linebacker Rob Frederickson said of Smith’s disappearances. “When you walk out on your teammates, it’s kind of like being in a foxhole and walking out on your buddies. But he’s come back, and we accept him. He's playing hard.
“He does seem happier and not as troubled as he was the last couple of years. But his name has kind of been synonymous with turmoil and controversy around here.”
Smith, who spent his teenage years on the mean streets of Los Angeles, did not speak with the media besides many of his teammates.
However, his brilliant play seemed to make up for that.
“I think Anthony is one of the most misunderstood players in the world,” Raiders Coach Joe Bugel said. “You have to show players you respect them as a person. Anthony was just looking for someone to trust.”
However, by 1998, Smith had moved on to the Denver Broncos and opted out of this NFL contract—when his problems began.
In 2003, Smith was charged with firebombing a furniture store in Santa Monica, reportedly over a dispute with the store’s owner about money and a consignment item. After two juries could not reach a verdict, a judge dismissed the charge.
Unfortunately, Smith was not home free.
In March of 2011, Smith and two others were charged with the 2008 murder of Maurilio Ponce, who was beaten and shot in October 2008 in Lancaster, Calif., with Ponce’s 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, and voted 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 of 2011.
On October 12, 2012, after a preliminary hearing, a Los Angeles Country 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 brothers, who were subsequently tortured before being murdered.
On November 5, 2015, after the trial and eight days of jury deliberations, Smith was convicted of the murders of Ricky, 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 the guilty verdict.
On January 22, 2016, Smith was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
