A man convicted in the shooting death of retired New Orleans Saints star Will Smith has appealed the conviction and 25-year-sentence arising from a confrontation after a 2016 traffic collision.

Cardell Hayes was convicted of manslaughter in December 2016 in Smith’s death and of attempted manslaughter because Smith’s wife http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/ty-montgomery-jersey , Raquel, was shot in both legs during the encounter in April of that year.

But Hayes’ attorney Paul Barker wrote in an appeal filed Thursday that the judge who tried Hayes should have granted a new trial because a witness who contacted Barker the day after Hayes’ conviction said he had heard two guns at the time of the shooting, buttressing Hayes’ claim that he had fired in self-defense.

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Prosecutors on Friday rejected the arguments as ”falsehoods.”

Hayes’ lawyers had argued at trial that he only fired because the retired NFL player was drunk and violent and had grabbed a gun following their collision. No one else testified Smith ever held a gun. A loaded .9-mm semi-automatic handgun was found loaded but unused on the front seat of Smith’s car.

Barker’s appeal Thursday also contended the trial judge, Camille Buras, should have allowed testimony about Smith’s 2010 arrest on a domestic abuse charge. That would have shown he could be violent when drunk, Barker wrote. Barker also wrote in the filing that other errors included allowing victim impact testimony before the trial’s sentencing phase, and by ”suggestively” re-reading jury instructions.

District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said in a statement Friday that prosecutors had proved Hayes’ guilt and that Buras managed ”this difficult trial fairly and impeccably.”

”The falsehoods within this appeal make only one thing clear: That Cardell Hayes has yet to accept the consequences of his rash decision to open fire on an innocent couple,” the emailed statement said. It added that Hayes’ latest arguments make clear he ”has yet to begin the rehabilitation necessary to one day return as a responsible and law-abiding member of our community.”

Smith, a 34-year-old father of three, was a defensive leader on the Saints team that lifted spirits in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. He helped carry the team to a winning season in 2006 and a Super Bowl victory four years later. His death in a dispute over traffic was shocking, even for a city with a high rate of homicides.

In his filing Thursday, Barker said a new witness, Michael Burnside, emailed him the last day of the trial, when he was not checking email because he was ”preoccupied with closing arguments and jury deliberations.” The email said Burnside had heard two guns at the time Smith was shot. Reached the next day, Burnside said he had heard four ”baps” consistent with a small-caliber gun before a ”boom” consistent with a larger-caliber weapon like Hayes’.

”Mr. Burnside states that the first ”boom” of the larger caliber weapon overlapped the last ”bap” of the smaller caliber weapon,” Barker wrote. That backs up Hayes’ testimony that Smith fired at him first http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/aaron-rodgers-jersey , he said.

Barker also said the judge didn’t let trial lawyer John Fuller question retired Saints running back Deuce McAllister, the first prosecution witness, about Smith’s ”arrest for abusing Raquel Smith while out at a bar in Lafayette.”

Smith was arrested outside a bar, accused of pulling his wife down the street by her hair. He was indicted in 2011 on misdemeanor charges of domestic abuse battery and public intoxication. Lafayette Parish prosecutors dropped the charges in 2012 after Smith completed community service and participated in counseling.

McAlister had testified about Smith’s good character, opening the way to rebuttal testimony which the judge didn’t allow, Barker wrote.

”The state elicited pages of testimony from Deuce McAllister detailing the good moral qualities of the victim, the tremendous impact on the victim’s family, and the impact on the New Orleans Saints franchise,” he wrote.

He said that ”went beyond the proper scope of examination,” causing prejudice against Hayes and violating his right to a fair trial.

The Detroit Lions hired Matt Patricia on Monday, doubling down on the franchise’s hope it can copy the New England Patriots’ formula for success.

The expected hiring of the defensive coordinator came a day after the Patriots lost to Philadelphia in the Super Bowl.

”This position comes with great responsibility, and I will commit every ounce of my energy to this football team, starting today,” Patricia said in a statement released by the team.

Lions general manager Bob Quinn made the move, reuniting with someone he worked with in New England for more than a decade.

”He has been preparing for this opportunity his entire career, and he’s ready for the responsibility and its challenges,” Quinn said.

The Lions plan to formally introduce him at a news conference Wednesday.

Quinn fired coach Jim Caldwell last month with a record eight games above .500 over four years and postseason appearances in 2016 and 2014. The Lions went 9-7 this season and missed the playoffs.

Patricia was the Patriots’ defensive coordinator for six seasons Marquis Haynes Color Rush Jersey , ending with his unit giving up 41 points and 538 yards to the Eagles.

”Obviously, I didn’t do a good enough job here with the defense,” he told reporters Sunday night.

The 43-year-old Patricia was on Bill Belichick’s staff for 14 seasons, overlapping with Quinn for many years. Quinn was a part of the Patriots’ personnel department for 16 years before Detroit gave him his first shot to be an NFL GM.

He cuts a distinctive figure on the sideline, with a bushy beard, backward ball cap and a pencil above his right ear.

Patricia earned an aeronautical engineering degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he played center and guard, and later went to the University of Massachusetts to add a master’s degree in education to his resume. While trying to figure out which career path to follow, the native of Sherrill, New York, was an aeronautical engineer for two years.

His climb includes being a graduate assistant at RPI and Syracuse and coaching the defensive line at Amherst College.

Belichick hired Patricia in 2004 as a coaching assistant, was an assistant offensive line coach the next season and worked his way up, leading linebackers and safeties, before being to defensive coordinator in 2012.

Patricia said he tries to learn something from everybody all the time, including Belichick.

”He’s been a remarkable mentor to me, not only as a football coach but also as a man and as a friend,” Patricia said. ”I have learned immensely from his detailed leadership approach to the game http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/blake-martinez-jersey , which has certainly shaped me into the football coach that I am today. Quite simply, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with, who I believe, is the greatest coach in NFL history.”

Patricia’s top task in Detroit may be helping it establish a good running game.

The Lions ranked among the worst the NFL’s worst in rushing offense in each of the previous four years under coach Caldwell, who was fired last month with a 36-28 record, plus two postseason losses with the franchise.

Like Jim Leyland did as Detroit Tigers manager, Patricia made a point to connect with New England’s players before each game, usually with a handshake on the sideline.

”It just lets us know he has our back,” safety Duron Harmon has said. ”He has our back.”

While the Lions also interviewed Mike Vrabel, who was hired by the Tennessee Titans, they seemed to want Patricia from the start of their coaching search.

The feeling was apparently mutual because Patricia may have turned down a shot to lead the New York Giants after interviewing with the four-time, Super Bowl-winning franchise, to take on a challenge in a city that has experienced only one playoff win since winning the 1957 NFL title.

”Now I turn all of my attention to the Lions,” Patricia said. ”I look forward to the next chapter of my career in Detroit.”

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