THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 13, 1994 TAG: 9410130512
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
A bouncer at J.B.'s Gallery of Girls pleaded guilty Wednesday to shooting his boss three times in the head, then setting the go-go bar on fire to cover his crime in June.
Reginald J. Gilbert Jr., 49, accepted the plea agreement to save his life. Gilbert had faced the death penalty for capital murder and two life sentences for robbery and arson.
The sentence was imposed Wednesday: life for capital murder, 15 years for robbery, 10 years for arson, 5 years for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and 3 years for use of a firearm in the commission of murder.
Gilbert had planned to fight the charges Wednesday with a motion to suppress a confession he gave to detective Shawn Hoffman the day after the fire. After a lengthy consultation with defense attorney Peter Legler, he pleaded guilty.
Hoffman told Gilbert he had been seen at the bar the morning his boss, Edward Brooks Hamilton, 54, was killed. Gilbert then told Hoffman he had found the body and set the bar on fire because he was afraid he would be blamed.
Moments later, Gilbert confessed that he had shot Hamilton as he was counting out money from the weekend's receipts for a bank deposit. Gilbert said he asked for a loan and was refused.
``He said he couldn't give it to me and I just flipped out,'' Gilbert told Hoffman. ``I mean, it was a (lot) of money. I mean, I just went batty.''
After shooting Hamilton, Gilbert said, he drove to a gas station and filled a cup with gasoline, tossed the gas into Hamilton's office and ignited it.
Prosecutor Cathy Pritchard told Judge Jerome B. Friedman that Gilbert had used nearly half an ounce of cocaine, was strung out and needed more. He spent between $400 and $500 in stolen money to buy more cocaine before checking into a motel after the murder.
Firefighters found Hamilton's body slumped over his desk. Since he had not tried to escape the blaze, investigators determined there was foul play. A medical examiner later found three bullet wounds, two in the top of the head, one above the left ear.
As fire destroyed the bar, Gilbert joined a group of employees who had gathered in a nearby parking lot, some in tears.
Wednesday, many of those same employees crowded into the prosecution side of the courtroom, filling rows behind family members, crying again. A few friends and family members sat behind Gilbert.
``This has been a long, difficult process for everyone,'' said defense attorney Legler. ``One advantage of this plea agreement is closure. Everyone on both sides wants to put this behind them.''
Legler said Gilbert had ``expressed his remorse for everything that occurred.'' ILLUSTRATION: Gilbert
KEYWORDS: GUILTY PLEA SHOOTING ARSON SENTENCING CAPITAL MURDER
ROBBERY FELON by CNB