> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Ex-Raider will take the stand in own defense
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/ex-raider-will-take-the-stand-in-own-defense/
- Published: 2004-06-02T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:28:07.000Z
- Author: John Wood
- Tags: Business, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import

*Smith is accused of setting fire to Simply Sofas on Lincoln Blvd.*

AIRPORT COURT- HOUSE — A former Oakland Raider accused of setting fire to a Lincoln Boulevard furniture and antique store will testify in his own defense, his attorney told jurors Tuesday.

Lawyers gave brief opening statements Tuesday morning in the jury trial against Anthony Wayne Smith, 36, who is accused of starting the February 2003 fire that gutted both Simply Sofas and Lona Antiques on the 2300 block of Lincoln Boulevard, causing more than $2 million in damages to the conjoined stores. Smith was said to have had a dispute with the store owner over a $600 payment.

Smith was a standout defensive end for the Raiders from 1991 to 1997, playing with the team in both Los Angeles and Oakland. He was arrested last summer in connection with the blaze and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Investigators said the fire was started by three oversized water jugs stuffed with papers and filled with gasoline, thrown through a side window into the furniture shop. Not all of the papers inside the jugs burned entirely and Smith’s name and address was found printed on several of them.

Deputy District Attorney Jean Daly alleged Smith set the fire after Marilyn Nelson, owner of Simply Sofas, refused to pay nearly $600 for a statue of the Washington Monument that Smith had left at the store to be sold on consignment. The statue was broken, and neither side took responsibility for the damage.

“The type of fire that we’re talking about here today is a revenge fire, pure and simple,” Daly told the jury of five women and seven men.

Michael Houchin, Smith’s lawyer, kept his remarks to just a few minutes. He told jurors Smith would take the stand in the trial and reminded them that prosecutors are relying on circumstantial evidence. Houchin also pointed out that Smith had tried to resolve the dispute in a civilized manner, initiating paperwork for a small claims lawsuit against the store owner.

Houchin said the only feasible explanation for why Smith’s old and dated mail was in the water jugs was that Smith had used a dumpster outside the store to throw away some items from a storage space he was moving out of at the same time he left items on consignment at the store.

Smith had sold antique and collectible items on consignment at the store on several previous occasions. At the time of the dispute, Smith was asking for $1,200 for two statues, but Nelson only paid him $615\. She later paid him $845 when Smith claimed he had lost the first check, but quickly stopped payment after realizing the $615 check had been cashed. The fire was set shortly after Nelson stopped payment.

Santa Monica Fire Department fire-fighter and paramedic Jeff Furrows was one of the first witnesses to take the stand after lawyers gave opening statements. Furrows said he and fellow SMFD fire-fighter Matthew Norris, both from Station Three at 19th Street and Arizona Avenue, used bolt cutters and a circular saw to break through a gate and a set of double doors to access the blaze.

After less than five minutes in the hot, smoky building, crawling on the ground while they searched with a fire hose for the core of the blaze, Furrows and Norris were called back because the structure was deemed unsafe. Firefighters then switched from what’s considered an offensive fight to a defensive one, and a bigger hose was used to drench the blaze from outside.

The brick exterior of the building was saved, though the rest of the property was gutted and an engineer had to brace the building before investigators could re-enter the premises. The property has remained vacant since, though recently signs outside have advertised it as available to rent.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz at the Airport Courthouse near LAX is hearing the case, which is expected to be finished this week. It will resume today with further expert testimony from police officers and firefighters who responded to and investigated the fire.

During a preliminary trial in the case in December, Houchin said he could understand why officials suspected Smith, but stressed that the evidence didn’t add up. He also pointed to a handful of dumpster fires in the nearby area, indicating the Simply Sofas fire could have been started by the same unknown group.

Santa Monica Police Department Sgt. Robert Amada testified during the preliminary trial that he went to Smith’s home in Marina del Rey, where he lives with his wife and two children. He said Smith, at first, was defensive and thought Nelson had pointed investigators in his direction. But when Amada showed Smith photocopies of the mail with his name on the envelopes found inside the water jugs, Smith’s tone changed.

“He put his hand on the counter, dropped his head, and began to weep and sob,” Amada testified. “He said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’”

Smith’s wife, a fixture at previous court dates, wasn’t present Tuesday because she is expected to testify in the case and therefore could be influenced by the trial. Rector Hartshorn Murphy and associate rector Joyce Stickney, both from St. Augustine’s By-The-Sea, an Episcopalian church on Fourth Street in downtown Santa Monica, attended the proceedings. Smith was an active churchgoer and involved with several charities throughout Los Angeles.

Dressed in a dark gray suit with a light purple tie, Smith sat quietly through the beginning of the trial, occasionally jotting down notes on a notepad or leaning over to exchange comments with his lawyer. He was kept in a lockup facility during a lunch break, and returned to the Twin Towers jail at day’s end.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 2, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/060204.pdf?ref=smdp.com)