Santa Rosa jury convicts homeless man of voluntary manslaughter

A Santa Rosa homeless man with a violent past was convicted Friday of voluntary manslaughter for stabbing to death a friend who propositioned him for sex.

Khalil Rahim Keith, 36, propped his head in his hand and began to shake as the clerk read the verdict that could lead to up to 14 years in prison.

Jurors rejected Keith’s argument that he acted in self-defense last May when he killed Willie Ray Smith, 47, in a confrontation at the home for ex-transients. But the panel stopped short of calling it murder, finding him not guilty of the more serious offense.

Blood evidence presented in the more than two-week-long trial suggested Smith was stabbed as he pursued Keith along a walkway in front of the house. It contradicted prosecution arguments that Keith attacked Smith as he walked through the front door.

“The blood was on the flagstone, not on the porch,” said juror Stephan Johnson, a financial analyst from Santa Rosa. “It tells me Willie came at him.”

However, after about two days of deliberation, the jury decided Keith used an unreasonable amount of force. They were also persuaded by Keith’s violent history, which included a past assault in which he rammed another man’s head into a concrete wall.

Now, Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Robert LaForge will hold a brief, nonjury trial to confirm Keith’s prison record before setting a sentencing date.

Keith is expected to receive 12 years for voluntary manslaughter with a knife and one year each for two of his past convictions. A second-degree murder conviction would have resulted in a life sentence.

Friends of Keith who attended the trial declined to comment after the verdict was read.

The May 11, 2015, killing at the Red Tail Street home run by Catholic Charities shocked the quiet neighborhood and trained a spotlight on the novel effort to get homeless people off the streets.

Smith, who testimony showed also had a history of violence, was living in the home with several roommates when he invited Keith over to drink alcohol and watch movies, witnesses said.

Trouble began when Keith rejected Smith’s offer of oral sex. The two men fought in an upstairs room before Keith ran out with the help of another roommate.

Keith was waiting on the front porch for a ride when Smith came through the door and resumed the struggle.

He was stabbed in the upper chest and collapsed near the sidewalk.

Keith was arrested later the same day after fleeing on foot. He testified he stabbed Smith because he was in fear of his life.

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