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Ken Daley, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
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on April 13, 2016 at 12:25 PM, updated April 13, 2016 at 12:41 PM
Will Smith died after being shot eight times, including seven times in the back, Orleans Parish coroner Dr. Jeffrey Rouse said Wednesday (April 13).
The former Saints star was shot twice in the left upper back, twice in the left mid-back, and three times in the lower back, Rouse said in a statement. The eight bullet hit him in the lateral chest wall, the statement said.
"Many of these bullets perforated vital organs, including the lungs and heart," Rouse said.
Rouse disclosed the gunshot wounds that killed the former Saints defensive end as part of preliminary autopsy results. Complete autopsy results, including toxicology findings indicating the presence of alcohol or drugs in Smith's system, are pending.
Smith, 34, was fatally shot April 9, around 11:30 p.m., following a traffic collision on Sophie Wright Place near Felicity Street in the Lower Garden District. New Orleans police booked Cardell Hayes, 28, with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting.
Hayes' attorney John Fuller has said that "legally speaking," his client is not guilty of second-degree murder. Fuller's hints at an upcoming claim self-defense appeared to be bolstered Tuesday when the NOPD revealed that a loaded gun was recovered from Smith's vehicle.
"Everyone was threatened that was out there," Fuller said Monday. "Multiple witnesses have told me that someone besides my client and his friend were behaving in a threatening nature out there on that night.
"My client has been pilloried, tried and convicted in social media, print media, television media, when the truth of the matter is that he is not guilty. When the New Orleans Police Department reveals everything that they've learned, then you all will have a different impression of this case than has been created thus far."
Orleans Parish Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell scheduled a preliminary hearing April 28, at which time authorities would have to present sufficient evidence to establish probable cause for keeping Hayes jailed with a $1 million bond.
Fuller and co-counsel Jay Daniels would have their first opportunity to cross-examine police on their preliminary findings at that hearing. Four days later, on May 2, Fuller will be off the case for at least six months as he begins serving a pro tem appointment to preside as judge in Section D of Criminal District Court, until the election of a new judge in November.
"I think maybe the public is being misled as to all the dynamics that were involved," Fuller said. "There have been a number of actions that occurred that night, prior to this incident. So, hopefully, all that stuff comes out when we present some of our witnesses at the preliminary hearing."
However, if District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro secures a grand jury indictment charging Hayes with murder before 10 a.m. on April 28, the preliminary hearing would be rendered moot and not be held. The indictment would establish probable cause to keep Hayes in custody, and a new judge could maintain or change Hayes' bond amount.