Crown stays assault charge against former Riders receiver

REGINA – An assault charge against former Saskatchewan Roughrider Taj Smith has been stayed.

On Thursday morning, the Crown requested the aggravated assault charge against Smith be stayed, saying there was no reasonable chance for conviction. A stayed charge can be reactivated in a year if new information comes to light, although it is rare.

Smith, also known as Tajiddin Smith Wilson, was originally charged after a fight outside a bar on Dewdney Avenue that left one man seriously injured in August 2013.

Former Riders Eron Riley and Dwight Anderson also faced the same charge of aggravated assault in connection with the incident. Those charges have since been dropped.

Riley’s charge was stayed in June 2014. Anderson’s charge was dismissed after a preliminary hearing the same month.

Smith took to Twitter later in the afternoon to thank his supporters.