SAN DIEGO—An appeals court panel on Jan. 18 upheld the murder conviction of a motorist who stabbed another driver seven times on a South Bay street following a road rage dispute.
Rickey Vernon Smith was convicted by a Chula Vista jury and sentenced to 16 years to life in state prison for the Nov. 27, 2018, slaying of 36-year-old Horace Williams Jr., a father of five. The jury found Smith not guilty of first-degree murder, but convicted him of second-degree murder, plus an allegation of using a knife in the killing.
