Closing arguments in Santa Rosa murder trial

Khalil Keith was sitting on the front steps of a southwest Santa Rosa home early on the morning of May 11 last year after escaping a drunk and combative host, when he heard a loud voice on the other side of the closed door telling him his fight wasn’t over.

Instead of running away, the 36-year-old homeless man jumped to his feet, pulled an 8-inch knife and waited for Willie Ray Smith, 47, to emerge.

As the door opened and Smith stepped across the threshold, Keith plunged the blade between the older man’s ribs, puncturing a lung and cutting his aorta, prosecutor Anne Masterson told jurors Monday in her closing argument of the two-week-long trial before Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Robert LaForge.

Keith yanked the knife out and stepped aside as Smith fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood. Keith then wiped the blade on some clothes before fleeing on foot. Smith died later that day on the way to the hospital.

Masterson said Keith’s actions were nothing short of murder.

“Willie probably never saw it coming,” Masterson said.

Keith’s lawyer offered a different take on the slaying that occurred almost a year ago outside the Santa Rosa home for ex-transients.

Smith attacked Keith in an upstairs room after Keith rejected an offer for oral sex, attorney Scott Roberts said. His client fought his way out and was waiting for a ride when Smith came through the front door and punched him in the face.

Fearing his life was in danger from a man with a history of assaults, Keith pulled the knife in an act of self-defense, Roberts said.

He wasn’t required to run and even could have pursued Smith if he believed he posed a threat, the lawyer said.

“Khalil is entitled to stand his ground and defend himself,” Roberts said in his closing.

The eight-man, four-woman jury began deliberations in the case Monday afternoon. Deliberations will continue Wednesday.

A guilty verdict could mean life in prison for Keith, who has a history of violence. But the panel could find him guilty of a lesser manslaughter offense or hand down an acquittal.

Housemates testified the two men arrived late on May 10 at the 2839 Red Tail St. home run by Catholic Charities. Smith rented one of the rooms and had invited Keith to spend the night, take a shower and drink some vodka.

At some point, Smith propositioned Keith and the two fought. In one account, Smith pinned Keith to the ground and punched him. In another, Smith got the worst of the confrontation.

With the help of another housemate, Keith broke free and walked out the front door. He waited on the step as the housemate asked her boyfriend to give him a ride.

Meanwhile, Smith, whose blood-alcohol was later tested at more than twice the legal limit to drive a car, yelled threats and stormed down the stairs, witnesses said.

“He’s drunk and he’s a bully,” Roberts said. “He’s someone who won’t take no for an answer.”

But Masterson said Keith could have walked away at that point. Instead, she said, he was upset about the situation and the prospect of spending another night on the streets.

He armed himself with the knife and waited for the smaller man with only one good eye to come outside, she said.

Keith was never in imminent danger, the prosecutor said.

“He had just had enough,” Masterson said.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.