Former NFL player still in custody
Family and friends of a former LA/Oakland Raider accused of burning down a Santa Monica business are expected to ask a judge today to reduce his $1 million bail.
They say Anthony Wayne Smith, 36, of Marina del Rey, is a community-minded family man and is innocent. Smith remains in custody at the Los Angeles County Jail.
“It’s just bizarre to think he would perpetrate such an act,” said Vito Rotunno, Smith’s business partner. Rotunno pointed to Smith’s charity work and involvement with youth athletic organizations.
He said Smith is wrongly accused.
Smith, a standout defensive end for the Raiders in the 1990s, was arrested by Santa Monica Police on July 15 and charged with arson in connection with the Feb. 13 fire that gutted Simply Sofas, a furniture and antique store on the 2300 block of Lincoln Boulevard.
Ted Yamamoto, Smith’s private attorney, said three people will speak at today’s bail reduction hearing — Rotunno, Smith’s wife, Theresa, and a religious leader from St. Augustine’s By-the-Sea, a church on Fourth Street where the Smiths attend.
Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Jean Daley declined to specify what the evidence is against Smith. She said more information would likely be made public at today’s hearing.
Yamamoto also refused to comment on the nature of the evidence but said the $1 million bail is unusually high. He said the charge calls for bail to be set at $75,000.
To illustrate his case, Yamamoto pointed to the Friday arrest of 23-year-old Joshua Harville, of Palmdale. Harville is a freelance videographer accused of setting a 5,000-acre blaze in Leona Valley in September of 2002 so that he could sell footage to news stations.
Harville’s bail is set at $250,000. “You know, there’s something fishy going on,” Yamamoto said. Asked if there was anything in the charges against Smith that would warrant the higher bail, Yamamoto responded, “No. I can say emphatically, no. The structure may be worth $1 million, that’s it.”
Marilyn Nelson, owner of Simply Sofas, said she had no idea Smith was a suspect in the fire, which caused $4 million in damage, until shortly before his arrest. Smith had sold personal items, such as swords and marble obelisks, on consignment in her store after moving out of a large house in Playa del Rey.
Nelson said the relationship between her and Smith deteriorated over a money dispute. She said Smith demanded a second check from her for items that were sold at the consignment store. He then tried to cash both the new check and the one that he claimed to have lost, Nelson said.
After Nelson canceled payment on the second check, she said she never heard from Smith again. Less than two weeks later, Simply Sofas burned down.
Rotunno said it doesn’t make sense that Smith would set a fire over a $500 or $600 dispute. He said Smith, an African- American with an athletic build, is being misjudged based on his appearance.
“That’s how much four or five of us would spend on a dinner out at Michael’s or Chinois,” said Rotunno, who also is the godfather of Smith’s oldest daughter. “It’s a non-issue.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 5, 2003. Read the original PDF.