A 19-year prison sentence ordered in 2015 for a Bledsoe County man has been reinstated after an appeals court reversed 2023 findings by a post-conviction court that a witness statement wasn’t provided at the man’s plea hearing.
In April 2015, Casey Lee Anderson, 43, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the April 22, 2014, slaying of Orlando F. “Big O” Smith, 39. But Anderson appealed, pointing to a witness statement alleging the dead man had a gun in his hand before he was shot, according to a ruling issued by the state Court of Criminal Appeals in Knoxville. Judge Tom Greenholtz authored the ruling, with Justices Camille R. McMullen and John W. Campbell joining in a reversal of a lower court’s finding.
Following an Oct. 23, 2023, post-conviction hearing, Circuit Court Judge John “Cam” Cameron granted relief in his finding that state prosecutors violated their obligations under law when they suppressed a witness statement that was potentially favorable to Anderson, court documents state. Cameron’s ruling was focused on a statement by one of the two women present during the shooting.
State Appeals Court officials in Knoxville said Dayton, Tennessee-based attorney Elizabeth Greer represents Anderson. Greer didn’t respond to a message left Tuesday at her office. Anderson was not released because the state’s appeal of the ruling was pending.
(READ MORE: Bledsoe County shooting victim lay dead for 12 hours)
In April 2014, Anderson stayed at a property in Bledsoe County with Smith, and the two men were helping the property owner with various improvements while they lived in a camper along with two women identified in court records as Brittany Lively and Jennifer Willin.
In the early morning hours of April 22, 2014, Anderson shot Smith after Smith “entered the camper wearing gloves and brandishing a pistol in the direction of Ms. Lively and Ms. Willin,” court documents said. “The shooting started in the camper and then proceeded outside.”
Anderson fired at least 20 shots, ultimately killing Smith, whose body he obscured with cardboard, trash and trash cans and left lying until law enforcement arrived, documents said.
Anderson didn’t call police but instead tried to clean blood out of the camper with water and ammonia, documents said. The three waited for the property owner to return later that evening to explain what happened. Upon his return, the property owner contacted law enforcement immediately, and they took Anderson into custody at the scene.
The statement at issue in the ruling, from Lively, placed a weapon in Smith’s hand prior to Anderson firing shots, documents said. Cameron’s ruling contains the relevant portion of Lively’s statement.
Lively said Anderson and Smith had been shooting guns outside the home that day, and some trouble seemed to be brewing out of earshot.
At 2:15 a.m., according to documents, Lively said Smith entered the camper and retrieved a .44 caliber black-powder pistol, black industrial latex gloves and trash bags.
“He said he was taking the garbage out,” Lively said. “The garbage was already bagged up.”
Outside, Smith turned on some lights near the camper and, around 3 a.m., returned to the camper, asking Anderson to come outside so he could show him something. Anderson refused.
“Big O raised up the .44 black powder gun and started to point it at me and Jennifer, and I was holding Jennifer real tight,” Lively said.
That was when Lively said Anderson shot Smith in the head “about six times” with a .22 caliber pistol from about 3 feet away, documents said.
(READ MORE: Bledsoe County men make federal case out of bumper sticker ticket)
Lively said the wounded Smith then opened the door, with the black powder pistol still in hand, and turned back toward her and the other woman, documents said. As Smith turned, Anderson picked up a .22 caliber rifle and shot Smith again. She said Anderson then grabbed another gun of an unknown type and shot Smith multiple times as he followed him through the doorway.
“Big O never said he was going to kill any of us, but I was scared he might have killed all of us,” Lively said.
While Cameron ruled the state violated requirements of law in suppressing Lively’s statement, the judge noted her testimony during Anderson’s preliminary hearing was similar, and Anderson’s attorney had the opportunity to cross-examine Lively but didn’t clarify or ask any questions about her testimony, documents said.
Relative to the state’s violations of its obligations, Cameron also concluded that the statement was material to the case but didn’t find that including the statement would have changed the outcome of court proceedings. Greenholtz agreed.
The appellate ruling also included Anderson’s account of events to police in which he “admitted to firing 20 rounds from three separate weapons and shooting Mr. Smith while Mr. Smith was outside on the ground yelling, ‘Wait, wait,'” Greenholtz said. “Following the killing, (Anderson) did not call for help, hid the body behind some trash bins and destroyed evidence.
“In the words of his trial counsel, the petitioner’s actions ‘turned a pretty good self-defense case into a not very good self-defense case,'” Greenholtz said.
State prison records show Anderson is incarcerated at Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville. His sentence expires June 19, 2031.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.
