Smith murder charges dropped
District attorney cites ‘insufficient evidence' against suspect
LAKE COUNTY >> The charges against Daniel Wayne Ford in the murder of Nicky Smith have been dropped for lack of evidence, according to Lake County District Attorney Susan Krones. In November, Smith’s body was found outside Lakeport near Scotts Valley Road. The same day, Ford, a 49 year-old Lakeport resident, and Michael Sean Shaffer, a 35 yearold man from Upper Lake, were arrested by sheriff’s deputies in Upper Lake and Nice. Ford and Shaffer were booked on suspicion of murder, kidnapping, robbery, and carjacking.
An autopsy later determined 70 year-old Lucerne resident Smith had died of blunt force trauma and gunshot wounds.
In December, Shaffer’s charges in connection with the murder were dropped. He was held for several weeks on an unrelated probation violation charge, and was released this month, Krones said.
Now, the charges against Ford have also been dropped.
The DA said she will not press the charges brought against Ford in the Smith case, pending the results of several California Department of
Justice evidence tests. Ford is still in custody for a parole violation, as well as a misdemeanor battery conviction sentence that runs into February, Krones said, noting that Ford does not have the option to post bail until after this sentence is completed.
“Initially we acted on the charges,” said Krones, who has been prosecuting the case. “But as the investigation went on, information developed that made me uncomfortable going forward with the preliminary hearing at this point because of insufficient evidence.”
Krones noted, however: “That could change.” A group of forensic items including potential blood samples from Smith’s and Ford’s vehicles and a taser that is connected to the suspected murder have been sent to the DOJ, she said. If the test results confirm the DA’s suspicions, the charges may be re-evaluated.
“We can file charges again, even twice more,” Krones said, noting that charges in a murder case like this can be filed up to three times.
Krones said the Smith case is “still a murder case, and it’s still being investigated…We have a basic understanding of the circumstances, but (not) in terms of who was directly involved versus tangentially involved.”
After Smith’s death, it took weeks for law enforcement to recover his vehicle, which was thought to contain pertinent evidence, and “made a huge difference” in Krones’ case. Krones said Thursday that while a firearm was involved in the murder, it hasn’t been found.
With the charges against both of the central suspects in Smith’s murder now dropped, Krones responded to the doubt this might cast on her office’s case. “Mr. Shaffer and Mr. Ford were not just walking down the street and we just picked them up randomly,” she said. “They were involved in this situation and they may be witnesses in some way. I just want to make sure that if and when charges are filed that we have the forensic evidence.”
Krones noted that it “could be several months” before the forensic results come back.
Another suspect, whom Krones did not identify, has “not been charged yet” in the case, and is currently in prison, she said.