Kandin Eric Wilson
Kandin Eric Wilson said he does not intend to testify in his own defense Friday when testimony wraps up in his first-degree murder trial.
Wilson, 29, told 4th Judicial District Judge David L. Shakes of his decision after the judge advised him on his options, a standard procedure.
“I understand fully judge,” Wilson said.
The decision is not surprising. Had Wilson opted to take the witness stand, prosecutors could have asked him about his three prior felony convictions for theft, trespass and giving false information to a pawn broker.
Wilson’s attorney Philip Dubois has challenged the identification made of his client by the victim’s boyfriend.
The last defense witness Friday was Edie Greene, a professor of psychology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Greene testified about memory recall after traumatic events, which she studies. She said memories formed under stress are more easily influenced than unstressed memories, so eyewitness recall of events can sometimes be false.
In addition, eyewitnesses sometimes falsely identify suspects from police lineups.
“Our memories are not like a videotape. We don’t record things … and push a button and get them back,” she said. “Instead, our memories are created, reconstructed.”
On Thursday, the jury heard testimony from a cell phone company representative who described how signals from Wilson’s cell phone number bounced off certain towers. Police contend the locations of those towers contradict Wilson’s claim that he was at home when the shooting occurred.
Wilson is accused of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the Sept. 27 shooting of Susana Pelayo-Perez, 35, in the parking lot of the Shannon Glen apartments at 260 N. Murray Blvd.
Prosecutors Thursday agreed to drop one of the charges against Wilson, an aggravated robbery count that accused him of have “an armed confederate.”
Deputy District Attorney Nathan Whitney said there was no evidence that Wilson’s co-defendant Kyle Robert Gray had a gun during the shooting.
Gray took a plea deal that required him to testify against Wilson, who had the nickname “Trailer”. Gray said he drove the car while Wilson fired one shot from a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun that killed Pelayo-Perez.
If the jury finds Wilson guilty on first-degree murder charge, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. Prosecutors have also charged him with being a habitual criminal because of his prior felonies.
If Shakes were to find Wilson guilty of those counts in a later hearing, it could increase his sentence.
(Ruth Moon contributed to this post.)
theres no way he can be in two places at once and how can you be a nazi when we have almost every race in are family he has mexican american cousins , african american cousins, oriental cousins and native american cousins his girlfriend of 9 years is a mexican american, who had a massive stroke every weekend he would go and stay with her and help her with her rehabilatation he is not a murder he was at home with use kyle gray did what he wanted to do he bought his way out of a life sentance dont let gray get away with this kandin is innocent so he should be found innocent and gray be charge with murder untell he gives up the real shooter dont make a mistake and lock up a innocent man
and as far as a robbery gone bad gos he had a job he was working at the time he turn his self in nobody is disputing him being with him earlyer in the day only that he was home way before the shooting as soon law enforcement said kandin name kyle gray ran with it and the cards fell into place for him he worked the court system we;ve seen this happen all the time law enforcement makes mistakes to and not perfect nobody is he is a innocent man who needs to be look at as a stand up young man and not a cold blooded murder again he was at home with use shane wilson; jana wilson; shana wilson;