Shortly before he was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head, the victim called police to report shooting someone trying to rob him.
By CHRIS TISCH
Published October 22, 2004
LARGO - In what were likely his last words, Vernon Gilbert sealed his killer's fate.
"I just shot a guy in here robbing us," Gilbert told a police dispatcher over the phone. "Hurry. Hurry."
When police arrived at the condo minutes later, they found Gilbert, 88, dead in his bedroom with a gunshot wound to his head. They also found Brandon Scott Ware in the condo.
Prosecutors said Gilbert's phone call helped prove two things: That Ware killed Gilbert during a robbery attempt, and that Ware had time to think about killing him, making the crime premeditated.
A jury agreed with prosecutors and convicted Ware of first-degree murder and home-invasion robbery Thursday after about two hours of deliberations. Ware, 21, is set to be sentenced today. Though he is eligible for the death penalty, his defense team will ask for a life sentence.
Prosecutors said Ware followed Gilbert and his wife, Helen, 86, home after they shopped at a Publix near their Largo home on Nov. 26, 2002. Wielding a stick, Ware forced the couple into their home, then began rummaging through the condo, stuffing jewelry, car keys and a knife into his pockets.
Mr. Gilbert slipped into his bedroom and fetched a loaded handgun he kept in his dresser. He shot Ware in the face and back, then returned to the bedroom and called 911. But Ware then attacked Mr. Gilbert, taking the gun and firing it point-blank into Mr. Gilbert's head.
Blood evidence would later show Ware then patted Mr. Gilbert's pants in search of his wallet. He also at some point attacked Mrs. Gilbert, hitting her on the head. Seconds later, officers arrived and found Ware in the condo, the gun still in his hand and the jewelry in his pocket.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for several reasons. Ware has a previous felony conviction for selling and possessing cocaine, for which he was on probation at the time of the murder. That Mr. Gilbert was such a vulnerable victim, and that the murder occurred during a robbery, also make it a death penalty case.
In arguing for a life sentence, defense attorneys will point out Ware has no other crimes, other than the drug conviction, on his record and was young at the time of the offense. Family and friends also will ask the jury and judge for mercy. If Ware receives life, he will never be eligible for parole.
The jury that convicted Ware will hear testimony this morning, then will make a recommendation to Judge Brandt Downey regarding life or death. The decision will be Downey's, though he must give the jury's recommendation great weight.
Prosecutors said Gilbert's family members initially wanted to pursue a death sentence against Ware, but several family members said after the verdict that they have backed off that stance.
"We're not vindictive," said Judi Gilbert, the couple's daughter-in-law.
Ware, however, hasn't exactly spared them anguish during the trial process.
Despite overwhelming evidence, Ware said he refused his first attorney's advice to plead to the charges, forcing the Gilbert family to sit through a first trial in August, then endure a second one this week after Ware complained about his attorney and earned another trial. One family member had to testify at both trials.
During closing arguments Thursday, Ware's second defense attorney, Michael Schwartzberg, speculated that Mrs. Gilbert, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, somehow grabbed an antique shotgun from a closet and pointed it at Ware. Schwartzberg suggested Ware had merely stopped by to help the couple unload groceries, and that the confrontation prompted Mr. Gilbert to fetch his handgun.
The Gilbert family later said they found the story somewhat amusing.
But they did not appear to be amused during portions of the trial. When prosecutors replayed the tape-recording of Mr. Gilbert's 911 call during closing arguments, family members cried and shook.
Ware's family, including his father and stepmother, have said throughout the week that they feel great sympathy for the Gilbert family.
The feeling is mutual, which also is contributing to some Gilbert family members' decision to accept a life sentence.
"To take him (Ware) from his family and make them lose a son is like what he did to us," said Victoria Gilbert, a granddaughter of the victim. "And I can't do that. I don't think taking one life to replace another is a good idea."
Family members say their Christian faith also is a factor. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert attended First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks, sitting in the same pew every Sunday.
The couple were married 60 years and they ran a hotel in Largo before selling it and retiring. They had lived in their condo for 30 years.
Mrs. Gilbert had Alzheimer's for many years and family members had suggested Mr. Gilbert either hire a nurse or place her in a home. Mr. Gilbert, who was fiercely independent and protective of his wife, wouldn't have it.
He had fallen and broken a hip shortly before his death. He walked with a limp and weighed just 113 pounds. In his 911 call, he sounded weak and winded.
After her husband died, Helen Gilbert was placed in a nursing home. For months, she lay in bed with her eyes squinted shut.
When she died on Mother's Day this year, family members came to see her. Her eyes were open, her mouth curled into a smile.
