Prosecutors allege that Smith, 43, of Fontana; Charles Eric Honest, 41, of Los Angeles; and Dewann Wesley White, 32, of Bloomington, murdered Maurilio Ponce on Oct. 7, 2008.

Ponce, a 31-year-old Latino man, died after he was beaten and shot twice in the head and eight times in the torso at 2 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008, according to coroner's records.

His body was then dumped near the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve about 11 miles west of Lancaster.

Charges of one count each of murder were filed against the three men in January 2011, and they were arrested the following March, according to prosecutors.

Smith, who plead not guilty last May, was the top pick of the Raiders in 1990 out of the University of Arizona, and played professional football with the Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders between 1991 and 1997.

He was living in Marina del Rey when Ponce was killed, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

Smith had a previous run in with the law. He was charged with the February 2003 firebombing of Simply Sofas in Santa Monica over an alleged dispute. But a judge dismissed the case against him in December 2004 after two juries deadlocked — the second 11-1 in favor of acquittal.