NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – The attorney for the man accused of murdering former NFL player Will Smith claims his client was involved in a hit-and-run before the deadly shooting.
We now have surveillance video showing a hit-and-run on what appears to be the suspect’s orange Hummer.
The video was taken from a Magazine Street business late Saturday night. It shows an orange Hummer that looks very similar to suspect Cardell Hayes` SUV stopping quickly. Then a silver SUV, resembling Smith`s Mercedes G63 — bumps into the back of it.
The Hummer pulls over. The silver SUV takes off.
The video then shows the orange Hummer follow the silver SUV down the road.
John Fuller, Hayes` attorney, continues to claim his client was “not the aggressor” in the shooting which ended with Smith being shot and killed.
Cardell Hayes faces a second-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Will Smith.
Witness video shows chaotic scene
Another video shows the chaos after Smith was gunned down in the Lower Garden District.
The video posted to Christopher Nit Sheffield Facebook page Sunday shows a man in handcuffs.
Screams heard in the video are believed to be from Smith’s wife, Raquel, who had been shot in the leg.
Here’s the dialogue below:
Witness 1: “He’s like, I guess this guy was like — ‘get out, I have a gun’. And he was like ‘[expletive] you, I’ve got one too’, and then shoots him, and he’s dead.
Witness 2: “A [expletive] dead man over there?”
Witness 1: “Yeah.”
Witness 2: “Which one? The one in the SUV?
Witness 1: “In the Mercedes truck..”
Witness 2: “Oh my God.”
Attorney: There was a second gun
John Fuller, suspect’s attorney, spoke out Monday explaining why his client is innocent.
“It’d be safe to say not only did my client feel threatened, but citizens on that block felt threatened as well, and the unearthing of a second gun will lend itself well to the defense of Mr. Hayes,” said John Fuller.
A reporter asked, “Are you saying Mr. Hayes felt threatened by the presence of something Smith had or something someone in his party had?”
Fuller responded: “Everybody out there felt threatened.”
The reporter asked, “By Smith?”
Fuller responded again: “By somebody other than Mr. Hayes.”
