ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 20, 1997 TAG: 9702200063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
Capital murder charges against three men accused in the stabbing and drowning of a Fairlawn man in late September have been amended to first-degree murder.
Wanda DeWease, special prosecutor brought in from Roanoke, said in a news release Wednesday that the men waived their right to a preliminary hearing in exchange for capital murder charges being dropped.
The release did not explain why DeWease chose to pursue the lesser charges, which carry a maximum of life in prison, as opposed to a potential death sentence.
DeWease could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
Darick D. Wetzel, 22, Joseph R. Graham Jr., 27, and Douglas E. Gibson, 31, were indicted Tuesday in the robbery and killing of Elmer Eugene Fisher.
Shortly after all three men were arrested Sept. 29, Fisher's wife, Jacquline "Jackie" Fisher, said she would not feel safe until they were dead. "They killed him, and I want them three dead," she said.
On Wednesday, Fisher said she was aware that the men no longer were charged with capital murder. "I guess they'll be in prison for a while. I can't do nothing about it," she said.
Gibson led Pulaski County sheriff's deputies to Elmer Fisher's body, floating in the New River near Parrott, Sept. 29. Police said the killers had left Fisher there after a fight seven days earlier ended with Fisher's stabbing.
Witnesses told police that all four men were drinking beer and passing time at the river together when an argument about a poker game days earlier turned physical.
DeWease, an assistant commonwealth's attorney, was assigned to the case last month after a conflict of interest arose when a woman who worked with one of the defendants' attorneys took a job in the Pulaski County commonwealth's attorney's office
In the news release, DeWease said, "After reviewing the facts and circumstances of the cases, and conferring with counsel for the defendants, the commonwealth has agreed not to pursue capital murder charges ... against each defendant."
Jimmy Turk, Gibson's attorney, said all three defendants agreed to waive their preliminary hearing when DeWease made the offer.
First-degree murder carries a maximum of life in prison. A person convicted of capital murder is usually sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty.
Turk said the evidence shows his client was at the scene of the slaying but did not actively participate.
"He cooperated with the police from the outset," Turk said.
Jennifer Gibson, Douglas Gibson's wife, also contends that her husband did not kill Fisher.
"The only thing my husband is guilty of is being in the wrong place at the wrong time," she said in a letter to The Roanoke Times. "That, and having poor judgment in people he calls friends."
Jennifer Gibson said her husband talked to police for hours and told them what happened. He was then advised by police to leave town because the other two men had threatened his life, she said.
The Gibsons traveled to Richmond to stay with relatives. Within hours, Richmond police arrested Gibson at Pulaski County's request.
Jennifer Gibson expressed sorrow for Jackie Fisher's loss in her letter, but said she thinks Fisher "should hear the whole story before passing judgment on anyone."
Gibson's letter is signed by her and 18 friends and relatives.
Gibson's trial has been set for April 22 and Wetzel's May 1 and 2. No date has been set for Graham's trial.
All three remain in jail without bond. Gibson is being held in the Radford City Jail; the other two men are being held in the Pulaski County Jail, on separate floors.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 linesby CNB