Prosecutors have finished presenting their case against Keith Gibson, a man accused of a series of robberies and killings in Delaware and Philadelphia in 2021. Witnesses identified Gibson as the perpetrator in surveillance videos showing the crimes. Gibson declined to testify, and closing arguments are scheduled for Monday. Xerxes Wilson,Esteban Parra reported
Prosecutors concluded their case on Thursday against Keith Gibson, who is accused of committing a series of robberies and murders in Delaware and Philadelphia in the spring of 2021. Over the course of the trial, witnesses testified that Gibson was present at the scene of one shooting and identified him as the man depicted in surveillance videos showing the homicides and a nonfatal robbery. The prosecution presented a week’s worth of circumstantial evidence, with only one person definitively pointing to Gibson as the perpetrator in the surveillance videos. The evidence presented by the prosecution suggests that Gibson killed a 28-year-old mother working at a T-Mobile store in Elsmere, as well as a 42-year-old man in Wilmington. He is also accused of shooting a convenience store clerk and robbing a drugstore in the city. After the prosecution rested its case, Gibson chose not to testify or call any witnesses in his defense, leading to closing arguments on Monday.
Law enforcement in Philadelphia has stated that once the proceedings in Delaware are complete, they will charge Gibson with four additional murders that occurred in Philadelphia around the same time. Throughout the trial, jurors in Wilmington have viewed multiple videos showing a masked man entering stores, demanding money, and shooting the employees. A detective testified that the crimes, except for one, shared similar characteristics, starting as robberies by a masked Black man with a revolver and ending with the shooting of the victims. However, it was not until Wednesday’s testimony that someone identified Gibson as the man in the videos. A former associate of Gibson’s stated that she recognized him in the footage from the Elsmere cellphone store, noting his gait, stance, and attire. The witness had come to the attention of detectives after she saw footage of the man who killed a worker at a Dunkin’ store in North Philadelphia, leading her to anonymously tip off the Delaware State Police about Gibson. She later identified Gibson in the video of the Elsmere killing. The prosecution also showed her a video of a man entering a building where Ronald Wright was killed, and she confidently stated that it was Gibson. Another witness testified on Thursday, claiming to have seen Gibson acting suspiciously near the site of a convenience store robbery. She identified him based on a mark on his forehead and stated that she saw him walk in the direction of the store before hearing gunshots and seeing people fleeing.
During the trial, defense attorneys raised doubts about the witness’s identification of Gibson. They pointed out that she had recently viewed videos of the convenience store robbery and Wright’s homicide during a meeting with prosecutors, suggesting that she may have been influenced to identify Gibson. They also questioned how she could recognize him based on his walk without a clear view of his face. Another witness, the clerk who was shot in the convenience store robbery, identified Gibson as the shooter in testimony outside the presence of the jury. However, the judge barred prosecutors from asking him about his identification in front of the jury due to concerns that it may have been tainted by a photo he was shown by a family member months after the robbery.
In addition to the witness testimonies, the prosecution presented physical evidence linking Gibson to the crimes. When Gibson was arrested, he was found wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a knife, an empty gun holster, gloves, a mask, bullets, and cash. Police discovered trace amounts of cash, cigarettes, and clothes matching the description of the Rite Aid robbery in a nearby house. A black revolver was also found near where Gibson was hiding, and he was carrying a black backpack identified by Wright’s sister as belonging to her late sibling. Detectives searched Gibson’s residence in Philadelphia and found a receipt matching a bicycle that was found in the woods near the Elsmere cellphone store on the day of the homicide. One of Gibson’s associates testified that he had told her he lost the bike while “doing a lick,” which she later learned was slang for a robbery. The person who killed Leslie Ruiz-Basilio at the Elsmere cellphone store also stole her vehicle, which was found in Philadelphia near where Gibson was living.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution presented a puzzle of evidence, with each piece strengthening their case against Gibson. The jury heard testimony from witnesses who identified him in surveillance videos, accounts of his suspicious behavior near crime scenes, and physical evidence linking him to the crimes. Ballistics experts also testified about the similarities between the bullets found on Gibson at the time of his arrest and those recovered from the victims. The trial is now moving towards closing arguments as both sides prepare to present their final statements to the jury..