Will Smith's Alleged Shooter, Cardell Hayes, Indicted on Murder Charge

A New Orleans grand jury indicted Cardell Hayes on Thursday on charges of second-degree murder in the killing of former NFL defensive end Will Smith and attempted second-degree murder in the shooting of Smith's wife, Racquel Smith, according to the Associated Press and Emily Lane of the Times-Picayune.

Hayes has also been charged with aggravated criminal damage (to the vehicle) and aggravated criminal assault with a firearm, per Joshua Berlinger and Ralph Ellis of CNN. 

The decision to charge Hayes during a hearing to determine if there was probable cause to keep Hayes in custody prior to his trial was a strategic move by the prosecution, per Lane:

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By opting to charge Hayes in an indictment, District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office will be able to keep some evidence in their case under wraps for longer. Many of the witnesses Hayes' attorneys planned to call were subpoenaed for the grand jury proceedings at around the same time Thursday. 

The indictment answers why New Orleans police had not yet charged Hayes in the shooting of Racquel Smith. Days after the shooting, NOPD spokesman Tyler Gamble said charges were pending against Hayes in connection to Racquel Smith's shooting. She was shot once in each leg and attended her husband's funeral in a wheelchair. But nearly three weeks after the high profile incident, prosecutors had yet to charge Hayes in her shooting, choosing instead to allow the grand jury to determine whether to charge him.

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Smith was shot and killed on the evening of April 9 after a traffic dispute between him and Hayes. Security footage of the incident appears to show Smith's SUV bumping into the back of Hayes' Hummer, a bump that the lawyer for the Smith family, Peter Thomson, classified as "a gentle bump," per Jonathan Bullington of the Times-Picayune.

Smith then drove off, allegedly assessing that no damage had been done to either vehicle. Hayes disagreed, chasing down Smith's SUV before crashing into the back of it with his Hummer. A heated exchange followed before Hayes allegedly shot and killed Smith and wounded Smith's wife.

Hayes' legal team to this point has not disputed that Hayes shot both parties, per Lane, but rather, it has suggested he acted in self defense. A fully loaded gun was found in Smith's SUV, though authorities said the only casings found on the scene were from Hayes' gun and that if there was another gun present, it wasn't fired, per Bullington.