Wednesday, April 24, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Tears rolled down the cheeks of the widow of a Nellis Air Force Base sergeant in court as she told of the impact of his murder on their tight-knit family, just as their dreams were on the verge of blossoming.
Sgt. William Prewitt was shot to death Aug. 9, 1994, by 21-year-old Wilbert Leslie during the holdup of a convenience store where he was moonlighting.
Linda Prewitt told the jury that must decide whether Leslie is executed for the slaying how the sergeant took the job to build a nest egg for his retirement 11 months later.
His stepson, William Forrest, lamented that Prewitt spent his life building for the day he could retire.
"He was waiting to live his life and didn't get a chance to do it," said Forrest, who followed his stepfather into a military career. "He had so much to look forward to (but) a split second, and that's it."
Tears also flowed down the cheeks of some jurors in District Judge Stephen Huffaker's courtroom during the first day of the penalty hearing. The hearing, which could result in a sentence of death or life in prison, was to conclude today.
The same jury that holds Leslie's fate convicted him last week of first-degree murder for the incident at the 7-Eleven store at 3589 N. Nellis Blvd.
The state's case was based on the testimony of Leslie's girlfriend, Rhesa Gamble, who told of driving the killer to the store and then circling the block during the holdup.
Gamble, 20, said that when Leslie jumped into the car, he blurted out, "I killed him. I killed him. He wouldn't give me the money."
She said that as they drove away and passed police responding to the emergency call from the store, Leslie tried to throw the murder weapon out of the car window, but it was decided instead that Gamble hold it.
When a Secret Witness tip led police to Leslie and Gamble, the gun was found in her car.
While Gamble testified against Leslie, she admitted under cross examination that she faced imprisonment if she did not implicate her former boyfriend.
As a result of her false testimony about the case at an early preliminary hearing, Gamble was charged with perjury.
She pleaded guilty and is expected to get probation later this month at her sentencing.
Although she linked Leslie to the murder weapon, defense attorneys told the jury that there is no physical evidence connecting the defendant to the crime.
A graphic security camera videotape captured the murder, but the the quality is not good enough to positively identify the killer, although the general appearance matched Leslie.
Several people in the convenience store during the robbery picked Leslie's picture from a photo lineup, although only one picked him out of a live lineup.
Wilbert Leslie
archive
