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He didn't mean to kill Dwight Webb, she says. He meant to save her friend from a violent ex-boyfriend.
By JAMIE JONES, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 15, 2003
MOON LAKE -- Julie Hair knows her son is no angel. He does drugs, has been to prison.
He's loyal, though, and doesn't mind stepping out to help somebody.
And that, Hair says, is exactly what he was doing Tuesday night. Trying to help somebody.
He didn't mean to kill a man.
He meant to save a woman.
"He was trying to be a hero," Hair said.
The 45-year-old's firstborn son, Michael Carroll Wilson, is being held at the Land O'Lakes jail, accused of second-degree murder.
Pasco detectives think Wilson, 29, fired one shot from his 9mm handgun Tuesday night and killed Dwight Webb on a dark road in Moon Lake Estates.
Wilson's mother is not certain her son killed Webb. But if he did, she said, it was accidental.
"He was totally trying to help this woman who thought she was going to be killed," Hair said.
It all started when a woman named Alicia Kersey showed up at Hair's house on Moon Lake Circle about a week ago, Hair said.
Kersey was an acquaintance who started to become a friend last week. The family welcomed Kersey, a sweet, charming woman with a bright smile, Hair said.
But last weekend, Kersey's mood was dark.
She said, "He's back. He's come back," according to Hair.
Kersey feared her ex-boyfriend, Webb, 48, was coming to kill her. He had been violent toward Kersey and Kersey's teenage son, Hair said. The couple had been together about four years, until Webb moved back to Baltimore. But he wanted to reconcile.
"She was scared to death," Hair said. "I totally believed this guy was nuts."
Hair promised to help if Webb showed up.
He did.
Tuesday night, Webb found Kersey driving through Moon Lake.
He followed her and repeatedly rammed her car.
From her cell phone, Kersey called Hair's house, screaming.
Wilson answered the phone.
"She said, 'He's going to kill me, you have to help me, your mom said you would,"' according to Hair. "She was hysterical."
Wilson didn't think too long about what to do. He picked up his gun and walked outside. One of his friends, who also had a gun, followed.
When Wilson opened the front door, Kersey's car sped by. Webb's van followed close behind.
Wilson and his friend jumped into a Camaro and chased behind them.
About two blocks away, they saw that Webb's van had slammed into Kersey's car.
Wilson and his friend got out of the car.
Hair said her son gave the following account of what happened:
He said his friend, whom Hair knows only as John, saw Webb choking Kersey in the woods. Wilson's friend threatened to shoot Webb, and Kersey said, "No, John, don't," according to Hair.
Wilson stood behind his friend and decided to fire a warning shot. He pulled the trigger, Hair said.
Wilson saw Webb fall to the ground. He thought his friend had either punched or shot Webb. He did not think his bullet could have hit Webb. It was dark, he did not aim and he was about 75 feet away, according to Hair.
Pasco sheriff's detectives say Wilson did in fact shoot Webb.
They've found no evidence that more than one shot was fired or more than one gun was used, sheriff's spokesman Jon Powers said.
Wilson got scared, drove home and hid in the attic, Hair said. Shortly after, deputies arrived and circled the house.
"I'm scared, Mama," Wilson said.
Before deputies took him to jail, he asked his mother if she was ashamed.
She is not.
"I'm proud he would stand up for a woman," Hair said. "That's my boy."
-- Jamie Jones covers crime in Pasco County. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6245, or toll free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6245. Her e-mail address is jjones@sptimes.com.