CPO David Gilbert
DeAngelo Thomas sits in court during jury selection for his trial on a murder charge.
Chief's Girlfriend Testifies In Murder Trial
The girlfriend of a Navy chief shot and killed in his home last year testified Tuesday in the trial of the suspect in her boyfriend's slaying.
Stacy Hass gave emotional testimony about the death of Navy Chief Petty Officer David Gilbert, 40.
Prosecutors said Gilbert, who was stationed at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, came home and found DeAngelo Thomas burglarizing his Roosevelt Boulevard apartment in April, and they said Thomas fatally shot Gilbert.
Also Tuesday during the first day of trial, Gilbert's neighbor Tiffany McKinnis testified she heard gunshots and saw Thomas and identified him.
Edgar Allen, 25, is also charged with murder in Gilbert's death. Police said Allen had set up the burglary of Gilbert's Savanna Oaks apartment on Roosevelt Boulevard and was waiting in a getaway car during the crime.
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.
If convicted, Thomas could receive the death penalty.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/26790933/detail.html
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