Man convicted of 2 killings in Delaware, accused of 4 in Philadelphia gets 7 life terms

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press

A suspected serial killer convicted of murdering two people in Delaware and accused of killing his mother and three others in Philadelphia in 2021 was sentenced to seven life terms Friday by a Delaware judge.

Superior Court Judge Ferris Wharton also sentenced Keith Gibson, 41, to almost 300 years for robbery, attempted murder and other charges.

“I have given you as much as I can,” Wharton told Gibson, according to the News Journal of Wilmington. “It is not enough.”

Authorities say Gibson went on a violent rampage shortly after being released in December 2020 from a Delaware prison where he served about 13 years for manslaughter and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

A Wilmington jury convicted him last year of murder and robbery in the killings of Elsmere cellphone store clerk Leslie Ruiz-Basilio, 28, and Wilmington drug dealer Ronald Wright, 42.

Gibson also was convicted of attempted murder and robbery in the shooting of Wilmington store clerk Belal Almansoori, armed robbery of a drug store, assault, conspiracy and gun crimes.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has also approved murder charges against Gibson in the killings of his mother and a doughnut shop manager, as well as the deaths of two men found shot in the head at a store in the city’s Germantown neighborhood.

Jane Roh, a spokeswoman for Krasner, said Friday that Gibson will be extradited to be formally charged in Philadelphia, but no timeline has been set.

Delaware prosecutors relied heavily on video surveillance footage showing the robberies and shootings of Ruiz-Basilio and Almansoori. They also argued that ballistics evidence linked the shootings of Ruiz-Basilio and Wright and tied them to a revolver recovered when Gibson was arrested.

Defense attorneys presented no evidence of their own and did not call any witnesses. Instead they tried to poke holes in the prosecution’s case by cross-examining witnesses and pointing out that there was no DNA or fingerprint evidence linking Gibson to the crimes.

Store surveillance footage from May 2021 shows Ruiz-Basilio being shot in the head at point-blank range as her arms are raised. Her SUV was later recovered in Philadelphia near Gibson’s home.

Almansoori was shot three weeks later. He lay on the floor of his store pretending to be dead after a gunman’s first shot missed him. After stealing several items, the gunman shot the prone teenager in the head. As he was leaving, the gunman turned and shot Almansoori again. Almansoori survived and testified in Gibson’s trial.

Almansoori was shot one day after Wright was killed in his Wilmington residence, which prosecutors said was a known drug house.

Earlier on the same day Wright was shot, Christine Lugo, 40, was confronted by a gunman as she opened a Dunkin’ shop in North Philadelphia. Police say Gibson pushed her inside, took about $300 and shot her in the head, a killing that also was captured on surveillance video.

When police arrested him in June 2021, Gibson was wearing body armor and carrying unique ammunition that prosecutors said was consistent with bullet fragments found at the two murder scenes. A revolver that prosecutors say was used in the shootings was found nearby.