Man faces 26 years of prison after “assassination” of mother
Jeff Wilson seemed to always blame his parents.
The 29-year-old Las Vegan blamed his parents when his carpet cleaning business failed.
He blamed them when child protective services took his children away from him and his girlfriend and his parents tried to become guardians of the children.
He blamed Kathryn and William Wilson for stealing his money.
In June 2012 he stopped assigning blame and shot his parents with a .40-caliber Glock handgun, killing his mother.
On Monday during his sentencing hearing, Jeff Wilson blamed police for not arresting him sooner and told Judge David Barker he hoped to have a relationship with his family someday.
That will have to wait at least two dozen years. Jeff Wilson was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison.
Barker called the crime “nothing short of an assassination.”
Wilson in June pleaded guilty via an Alford plea to second-degree murder and attempted murder. The plea means he did not admit guilt but agreed prosecutors could prove their case.
Authorities said Wilson’s growing paranoia because of a methamphetamine addiction caused him to shoot his parents.
Court documents show Kathryn and William Wilson were living in fear before their son appeared at 4:45 a.m. June 27, 2012, outside their home at 3077 Greendale St., near Vegas Valley Drive and Lamb Boulevard.
Prosecutor Shanon Clowers said Jeff Wilson’s was cold and calculating as he hid and waited for the two to leave for vacation.
The couple were in their 2004 Lexus and preparing to go to the airport.
Prosecutors said the defendant shot at his father seven times, striking him at least five times, before walking to the passenger side and executing his mother.
“He has never taken responsibility. He just blames everyone else,” Clowers said.
William Wilson spoke at the hearing on behalf of his son, hoping for a future relationship.
Defense lawyer Mace Yampolsky asked Barker to run the murder and attempted murder sentences concurrently to shorten his prison term.
Barker refused and handed down the lengthy sentence.
The evidence against Wilson was overwhelming. Family friends described his anger and his parents’ fear as he went “back on drugs,” according to court documents.
A friend said Wilson’s mother would hide in parking lots when he was at their house.
After the shooting, Wilson hid at Arizona Charlie’s on Boulder Highway, where he was living with his girlfriend.
Police found the handgun there, disassembled and hidden behind a fan in the room, court documents showed.
At first Wilson denied knowing something had happened and acted surprised when police told him his parents had been shot.
“That is unreal, bro,” he told detectives.
Jeff Wilson told investigators he had been at the casino at the time of the shooting and was flabbergasted he was being arrested.
“Never gonna hold my babies again,” he said.
Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
