Ex-Raider Anthony Wayne Smith Gets Life In Prison For 3 Murders

LANCASTER (CBSLA.com) — Former Raiders defensive end Anthony Wayne Smith was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a trio of murders.

Smith, 48, was convicted in November of the Nov. 10, 1999, shooting deaths of brothers Kevin and Ricky Nettles, who were kidnapped from a Los Angeles car wash, and the June 25, 2001, stabbing death of Dennis Henderson, whose body was found in a rental car in Watts.

Jurors found true the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders, murder involving the infliction of torture, and murder during the commission of a kidnapping. Prosecutors opted not to seek the death penalty.

The Nettles brothers were found with their heads wrapped in duct tape a day after they were abducted. Ricky Nettles' stomach had been branded with a burn in the shape of a clothing iron, according to testimony during Smith's preliminary hearing.

A mistrial was declared in the Oct. 7, 2008 shooting death of Maurilio Ponce after jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on first-degree murder. That murder charge was dismissed Friday after prosecutors said they do not plan to seek a retrial.

The former Raider did not make any statement during the sentencing hearing, but his attorney said he plans to file an appeal.

Smith was awaiting retrial for Ponce's killing when he was charged with the murders of the Nettles brothers and Henderson.

Smith, the Raiders' top pick in 1990 out of the University of Arizona, played for the Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders between 1991 and 1997. He has been jailed since his arrest in March 2011.

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