The scene described in the arrest warrant is disturbing. In the early hours of Oct. 5, a 46-year-old man shoved and began strangling a woman in her early twenties, knocking a phone out of her hand when she tried to call for help. What the warrant doesn't mention is that the accused assailant, David Smith, is the son of a billionaire, scion of a powerful North Carolina family and the chief executive officer of Sonic Automotive Inc., a public company that owns one of the largest car-dealership chains in the U.S.