Witnesses testify Santa Rosa slaying victim had violent past

The victim of last year’s slaying outside a Santa Rosa home for ex-homeless people was a violent alcoholic who attacked roommates and a girlfriend, witnesses testified Thursday.

Willie Ray Smith, 47, was stabbed to death May 11 outside the Catholic Charities-run Red Tail Street home where he lived. Khalil Keith, 35, who was homeless at the time, is charged with murdering Smith.

Prosecutors allege Keith pulled a knife on Smith during a late-night visit after Smith asked him for sex. He faces life in prison if convicted.

But Keith maintains he acted in self-defense when Smith became mad after he rejected him.

Two witnesses testified Wednesday about Smith’s alleged past aggressive behavior.

Andrew Schmidt, a former resident of the Red Tail Street house, said Smith was prone to regular bouts of violence and threatened him and other roommates.

“He became a violent guy on alcohol,” Schmidt testified.

About two weeks before his slaying, Smith confronted Schmidt when he brought home a male friend, Schmidt testified.

He tried to leave the house but the two fought at the front door, with Smith tackling him to the ground and throwing a piano bench at him, Schmidt said.

“I came out of my shoes he hit me so hard,” Schmidt said.

The former roommate said he was forced to move back onto the streets to avoid more problems. He wrote a letter to Catholic Charities informing them of Smith’s behavior within a day of the man’s death, he said.

“It wasn’t getting any better,” Schmidt said. “He was threatening other people.”

In the aftermath of the killing, Catholic Charities moved the remaining roommates to another location. The nonprofit continues to oversee the rental of a half-dozen single-family houses across the county to people in transition from homelessness, a spokeswoman said.

Schmidt testified under cross-examination he never told police about Smith. At some point over the past year, Schmidt was sent to prison in Florida on a theft conviction. He was brought to Sonoma County for the trial.

Smith’s ex-girlfiend, Aryliss Pratt, also took the stand, describing three times when Smith hit her during their 10-year relationship.

Pratt said she called the police after incidents in 2010 and 2013 in which she said Smith punched her in the face.

She said she still has a scar on her lip from an assault at a homeless camp behind the Dollar Tree store on Sebastopol Road.

“All the evidence points to Mr. Smith being the aggressor,” Keith’s lawyer, Scott Roberts, told the judge.

The witnesses’ testimony came after prosecutors rested their two-week long case Wednesday morning. Among their last pieces of evidence was a video recording of Keith being informed of Smith’s death.

Keith screams, “Oh, God! No!” as a detective tells him he is being charged with Smith’s murder. Sitting at the defense table, Keith sobbed and wiped his eyes with a tissue.

Testimony is expected to conclude by week’s end with closing arguments expected Monday.