ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 23, 1997 TAG: 9704230040
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA THE ROANOKE TIMES
Douglas E. Gibson is found guilty of lesser charge and will testify against two other suspects in upcoming trials in stabbing and drowning case.
A Fairlawn man has been found guilty of being an accessory to first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a Pulaski County construction worker in September.
Douglas "Eddie" Gibson pleaded no contest and agreed Monday to testify against two other suspects accused in the death of Elmer E. Fisher, 48, who was repeatedly stabbed, drowned and then left floating in the New River near Parrott.
Judge Colin Gibb found Gibson guilty, but will not sentence him until after the trials of Darick D. Wetzel, 22, and Joseph R. Graham, 27, are completed this summer.
In exchange for his plea in Pulaski County Circuit Court, Gibson was not prosecuted on a robbery charge and a first-degree murder count was amended to the accessory charge. Both those original charges carry maximum sentences of life in prison.
Jimmy Turk, Gibson's attorney, said the plea agreement means the maximum sentence Gibson will receive is 25 years in prison. That's the minimum a jury could have sentenced Gibson to on the original murder and robbery charges.
Pulaski County deputies arrested Gibson, 31, in September. Gibson told authorities he was only a witness to the killing and did not help plan it. But he did admit to participating in certain aspects of the crime in a statement he gave investigators.
Turk said his client told authorities that Wetzel stabbed Fisher in the groin area and then told Gibson to hold the knife. While Gibson did so, Wetzel removed Fisher's wallet and took $20. Gibson told deputies he then threw the knife in the river, Turk said.
As the fight progressed into the river, where Fisher ran to escape his attackers, Gibson admitted he used his car headlights to light the area as the other two men repeatedly stabbed Fisher with a second knife and held his head under water. He also said he threw rocks at Fisher as the man fled.
"I don't think [Gibson] participated in the planning," Turk said, "but once he got to the river, there were some problems with his conduct there."
Turk said Gibson told him he did what the other men told him to do because he was scared.
Fisher's body was found Sept. 27, after the Fairlawn man had been missing for several days.
Wanda DeWease, special prosecutor from Roanoke, declined to comment on the Gibson plea Tuesday because of the other pending cases.
Wetzel's trial on robbery and first-degree murder charges is set for May 1 and Graham's has been set for July 14.
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines KEYWORDS: NRVMURby CNB