LAWRENCE COUNTY CASE Jury convicts man of murder

Willie Smith will be sentenced in the next 60 days.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Willie Smith is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.
He was convicted late Monday by a jury of eight men and four women of first-degree murder. Jurors spent about two hours deliberating before returning the verdict.
Smith, 64, of Butler, was arrested Jan. 1, 2003, shortly after shooting Torrence Respress, 33, of New Castle, in the head on Boyles Avenue around 10 a.m.
Witnesses in the weeklong trial said Respress and two others had stopped at the house to celebrate the New Year when a fight broke out and Respress scuffled with Smith. Another man, Michael Malnar, 30, of New York shot Respress in the legs before Smith took the gun and shot him in the head, according to witnesses. Malnar pleaded guilty to aggravated assault charges last year and is serving 10 to 40 years in state prison.
Defense
Smith testified that he only intended to hit Respress over the head with the gun.
"I didn't have a thought about trying to shoot him. My thought was to go over there and hit him with the gun and stop all of this," Smith said.
Smith contends he didn't hear the gunshot but saw Respress fall to the ground with blood coming from his mouth. He said he was afraid and went to his car and tried to leave. Police stopped him just a few yards from the shooting.
Smith's attorney Tom Leslie argued to jurors in his closing statement that they should consider convicting Smith of involuntary manslaughter, an accidental killing.
Leslie contends that the gun hit a tree that Respress was trying to hide behind, causing it to accidentally go off.
Prosecutors pointed out that numerous witnesses saw Smith point the gun and shoot.
"I'm pleased with the verdict," said Matt Mangino, Lawrence County district attorney. "Although we can't bring Torrence back, we have finally brought justice for the Respress family."
Smith will be sentenced by Lawrence County Common Pleas Court Judge Dominick Motto within the next 60 days. Smith was found innocent of the charge of carrying a concealed weapon.
Judge Motto dismissed a charge of receiving stolen property shortly after prosecutors ended their case.