THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 12, 1996 TAG: 9607120511
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 61 lines
Did Royale Stewart fatally shoot delivery driver Kevin Gallegos last year during an attempted robbery? Or was Gallegos killed when he scuffled with Stewart over drug money?
Lawyers in the capital murder trial of Stewart, 18, presented those different scenarios to the 11-member jury during opening arguments Thursday in Circuit Court. The trial moved forward swiftly after three days of jury selection.
Prosecutors Phil Evans and Lisa McKeel argued that Gallegos, who was 29, died as a result of a random act of violence.
``It was random in the sense that Mr. Gallegos did not know the defendant,'' Evans said in opening statements. ``He was targeted because he looked like he had some money.''
``There will be no doubt that that act of firing was a willful act,'' Evans said.
Stewart, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, could face the death penalty. He is charged with capital murder, attempted robbery and two firearm violations.
Prosecutors said that on Feb. 10, 1995, Stewart rode to the 7-Eleven at 4008 Hampton Blvd. with two friends: Ocie Wilson and Gerald Crandle. They saw Gallegos talking on a pay phone outside the store and plotted to rob him.
Stewart changed into a green hooded sweatshirt and confronted Gallegos. After the shooting, Gallegos collapsed inside the store. The bullet had torn through his lungs and aorta. He later died at a hospital.
That Stewart was involved in the shooting is not at question, said Jon Babineau, Stewart's attorney. But police jumped to a conclusion in assuming it was an attempted robbery, he said.
``Was it premeditated? No. Was it willful and deliberate? No. Was it during a robbery? No. The police jumped to a conclusion. This was an accidental killing,'' Babineau said.
Babineau said Stewart, who sold marijuana, knew Gallegos. He said two or three weeks before the shooting, Stewart had given Gallegos a pound of marijuana, for which Gallegos owed Stewart $1,200.
On the day of the shooting, Babineau said, Stewart came to collect after Gallegos paged him. When they met at the 7-Eleven, Gallegos told Stewart he didn't have the money. That's when they began to argue. Stewart pulled a gun. They briefly tussled. The gun went off.
Sharon Cosgrove, an employee of McKendree and Co., where Gallegos was scheduled to pick up supplies, said she was talking on the phone with Gallegos when she heard him say, ``Hey man, I don't have any money. I don't have any money.'' She didn't hear anything more from him after that.
Babineau said those words led police to believe it was an attempted robbery.
For several wrenching minutes, jurors watched a 7-Eleven surveillance videotape that was recorded the day of the shooting. The tape showed Gallegos, suffering from the bullet wound, stumbling into the store and then collapsing on the floor in front of the counter.
Prosecutors are expected to finish their case today. The defense is expected to take less than a day. A verdict could come Monday. ILLUSTRATION: Royale Stewart could face the death penalty in the
killing of Kevin Gallegos last year at a Norfolk convenience store.
KEYWORDS: SHOOTING ROBBERY MURDER TRIAL by CNB