Witness’ credibility at heart of jury deliberations in murder case

Bill Gang

Thursday, July 22, 1999 | 10:21 a.m.

As the jury in the Bryan Keith Robinson murder trial began its second day of deliberations today, the focus was on the credibility of the principal witness that the case hinges on, a woman who said she saw the defendant level a pistol and fire at the victim.

Even Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent told members of the jury that if they didn't believe Deborah Pence's story about the Nov. 14, 1996, murder of Germaine McKines, "then pack it up."

But he argued that her testimony was supported by other evidence and if the jurors used common sense they would conclude that Robinson, whose street name is "B-Mac," was the killer.

Pence said she was in a position to see Robinson gun down the 17-year-old victim in the middle of a North Las Vegas street after a brief verbal exchange over his refusal to voice allegiance to a particular rap group.

That exchange included a declaration by Robinson that he was going to kill the victim -- an instant before gunfire erupted, Pence testified earlier this week in Chief District Judge Lee Gates' courtroom. She explained she personally knew Robinson.

McKines died from seven or eight bullet wounds, but defense attorneys contended during closing arguments that someone other than the defendant was the actual shooter. They noted that other witnesses indicated a man in a gray sweatshirt was the shooter, not the man in black that Pence saw.

Defense attorney Peter Christiansen Jr. charged that throughout the trial the prosecution was grasping at evidence.

"Where does the grasping stop?" he asked.

Defense attorney Scott Bindrup contended there was a shoddy police investigation, that tests were not conducted on certain evidence.

But Laurent countered that common sense should tell jurors that Robinson was involved in the murder, even if he wasn't the only shooter.

"We don't have to prove he fired all the shots, just that he participated in the murder of Germaine McKines," the prosecutor said.

He said that when Robinson threatened to kill McKines in the street at the Cheyenne Condominiums, 3301 Civic Center Drive, "He was deadly serious, the kind of serious that ends up with a body."

If the jury convicts Robinson of first-degree murder, the same jury will have to decide if he should be sentenced to life in prison with or without the possibility of parole or given the death sentence.

Robinson already has been convicted of murder for his role in an earlier murder and has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In addition to charges in the McKines murder, Robinson also is alleged to have killed two other men in separate incidents over a three-month period in late 1996, but he has yet to stand trial in those cases.