JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In under two hours, a jury found DeAngelo Thomas guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a Navy chief last year.
Prosecutors said Thomas shot 40-year-old Chief Petty Officer David Gilbert eight time when Gilbert came home and found Thomas burglarizing his apartment.
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"He's the reason David Gilbert is dead," prosecutor Moody said, pointing at Thoma during his closing argument. "He made the choice to climb through that window. He made the choice to arm himself with a gun. He made the choice to pull that gun and fire it again and again and again and again."
Gilbert's family could be heard weeping as Moody continued.
"Eight gunshots, eight times," Moody told the jury. "That?s a conscious decision to pull that trigger each and every time."
Thomas' attorney did not argue for acquittal, but asked the jury to find him not guilty of first-degree murder.
"Find him guilty of a lesser crime," attorney Deb Billard argued.
The jury didn't agree. In addition to murder, the jury also found Thomas guilty of armed burglary and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
"I think it was an excellent," said Gilbert's uncle, Roy Dickey, after the verdict was announced. "(The system worked."
Thomas' aunt was shaken by the verdict, but can sympathize with the Gilberts.
""My heart goes out to the family that lost a loved one," Lillian Nixon told Channel 4's Hailey Winslow. "I'm sorry they did."
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During the three-day trial, a detective testified he found the gun used to kill Gilbert hidden in a flower pot and a DNA analyst testified that samples taken from Thomas' clothes and the crime scene and confirmed with cheek swab samples taken from Thomas. Blood on Thomas' pants and hat also matched that of Gilbert, according to expert testimony.
Thomas did not take the stand during the trial, but an interrogation video played in court Wednesday, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Detective Bobby Bowers tried to distinguish whether Thomas intended to kill Gilbert or just panicked.
"I didn't kill nobody," Thomas insisted.
Prosecutors said Thomas was looking for marijuana when he went into the wrong Roosevelt Boulevard apartment last April. Police said he was initially considered a victim until officers said they found blood on his clothes and shoes.
Stacy Hass, Gilbert's girlfriend, gave emotional testimony Tuesday about watching Gilbert be shot to death.
"Oh my God. Oh my God. I think he's dying. He's been shot," Hass said in a 911 call played in court.
Hass said it's a night that she and Gilbert's daughter, Hannah, will likely never forget.
State Attorney Angela Corey, who personally assisted in prosecuting the case, said Gilbert, a father of three who served in the Navy for more than 20 years, deserved justice.
"He died as he lived, protecting those who couldn?t protect themselves," Corey said.
The state said it will seek the death sentence when the penalty phase of the trial begins next Tuesday.
Gilbert's death came two years after Thomas finished an eight-year prison sentence for armed robbery in Baker County.
Baker County investigators said if Thomas had gotten a life sentence for being a habitual offender, Gilbert's killing never would have happened. But investigators said the jury in the armed robbery wasn't able to hear about Thomas' long history of violence.