And here’s the key, as it relates to the decision of Cardell Hayes to shoot Will Smith: “A person who is not engaged in unlawful activity and who is in a place where he or she has a right to be shall have no duty to retreat before using deadly force as provided for in this Section, and may stand his or her ground and meet force with force”.
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News of the weapons is the latest twist in a case that has riveted a city where Smith was a fan favorite.
Hayes’ 911 call came in between the two vehicle crashes, Fuller has suggested.
Police have earlier said they confiscated a weapon at the scene believed to have been used to shoot Smith, but until Tuesday have not commented on whether Smith had his own weapon or whether any other weapons were found.
Asked later in the day how his client could explain, let alone defend, that many gunshots in a man’s back as self-defense, Fuller pointed to a legal case in which a man shot a “kid” who was running away and was still considered to be protecting himself. The Hummer then pulled over toward the curb while the Mercedes drove off. The Hummer then followed in pursuit. “I just find it odd that a homicide where a man lost his life, a man who left three children behind, that a gun supposedly isn’t recovered until days after the incident”, he said.
Mr Thomson said Smith’s wife, Racquel, said her husband died trying to protect her. She called him “her superman”. A coroner’s report released Wednesday showed that seven bullets hit the Queens-born Smith in the back, and one shot struck him in the left side of his chest.It was recently revealed through the Saints twitter page that Smith was unanimously voted to be inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame at a later time this year with the revelation coming on May 17th. The Hummer then approached with “great speed” behind Smith’s auto a few minutes later and, according to Thomson, rammed Smith’s auto so hard that the SUV struck the vehicle in front of them. “How would my client know to tell me that if somebody didn’t brandish that firearm?”
“During the argument, Hayes produced a. 45 caliber handgun and opened fire, striking Smith and his wife”. They were not identified, and police said neither was wounded. There was also a male passenger in Hayes’ Hummer. The two men got out of their vehicles and argued, police said.
Detectives found a loaded 9mm handgun inside Smith’s Mercedes SUV on Tuesday morning. An additional charge for Racquel Smith’s injury is pending, police said.
Hayes’ lawyer has insisted that Hayes was not the aggressor in the shooting.
“Cardell Hayes was tried and convicted”, Fuller declared, “before I got out of church on Sunday”.
The Hummer stopped suddenly, forcing Smith to hit the brakes.
Thomson said Racquel sustained a shattered right femur.
He said the consensus in the auto was that they didn’t hit Hayes’ vehicle, they didn’t see any damage and they were concerned for their safety so they continued.
The 34-year-old Will Smith was killed on Saturday and the autopsy was performed on Monday. Attorneys for Hayes and Smith have given differing accounts of what led up to the confrontation.
Meanwhile, the Saints and Smith’s family announced that a public visitation will be held Friday.
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This story has been corrected to show the Smith family attorney’s last name is Thomson, not Thompson.
