ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 25, 1996 TAG: 9610250085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
Less than two hours after a Virginia Tech student's killing, Gary Wayne Barker held a pistol to the head of a Giles County man and said, "I'll blow your head off."
Barker threatened the storekeeper during a robbery of the M&W Market in Pembroke Dec. 5. It was the last in a string of crimes police say were committed by three men accused of carjacking and later killing Alexander V. DeFilippis.
The gun Barker admitted using in the robbery was the same pistol prosecutors say Benjamin Lee Lilly used to shoot DeFilippis before the robbery.
At Lilly's capital murder trial Thursday, defense attorneys focused on such evidence in an attempt to undermine the credibility of Barker, the key prosecution witness.
Barker testified earlier in the week that Lilly, 28, used the .38-caliber pistol to shoot DeFilippis. Using a map Barker drew, authorities found DeFilippis' body on a pile of debris near railroad tracks in the Whitethorne area of Montgomery County. The 22-year-old McLean man had been shot in the head three times.
Witnesses testified Thursday in Montgomery County Circuit Court that Barker had the murder weapon before and after the killing. Other witnesses - several of them convicted felons - said Barker was dishonest.
Barker, 20, of Christiansburg, agreed to testify against Lilly as part of a plea agreement he signed in August that could keep him from spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Mark Lilly, 21, of Riner was also charged in the crimes. He refused to testify Wednesday, but taped interviews he gave police were played. On those tapes, Mark Lilly said his elder brother shot DeFilippis.
Throughout the trial, the defense has said it would prove Barker was the gunman despite the accomplices' statements.
Christopher Tuck, co-counsel for the defense, called the owner of M&W Market, Bill Williams, to the stand.
Williams said when he realized his store was being robbed, "all caution left me."
He grabbed Barker's arms from behind as the intruder stood aiming the pistol at the store clerk. Williams said he and Barker struggled briefly before Barker turned, aimed the pistol at his head and said he would kill him.
The robbers fled in a car with $44 in change they got from the store.
A Blacksburg man's testimony placed the murder weapon in Barker's hands before the killing.
Alfred "A.J." Fall rented a trailer to Barker and Mark Lilly the day before the slaying. He said Barker threatened to shoot him with a rifle that day and held the murder weapon during an evening of drinking. He also said he never saw Ben Lilly touch any guns.
Tuck said Barker's threats showed intent and motive.
Another witness said it was typical for Barker to lie when he was in trouble.
Michael Lang, 21, attended special-education and "high temper" classes with Barker for more than three years in high school.
"He basically would blame anyone else for things he did," Lang said.
Lang admitted to the court he had been convicted of three felony charges: two for theft and one for statutory rape.
Joyce Lang, Michael Lang's mother, said she knew the Lillys and Barker were headed for trouble the night of the killing and refused to let her son go out with them.
When asked why she felt so strongly at the time, Joyce Lang testified it was because Barker stood at the edge of her yard and said "he could kill his best friend and never regret it."
The jury is expected to decide the case today after closing arguments.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 linesby CNB