Opinion ID: 1465616
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Brill's Version

Text: Brill, who is white, testified he had met Harris about two months prior to the killing. A short time later, Harris expressed interest in having Brill sell for him a load of drugs and a case of Glock handguns, but nothing ever came of that, or of Harris's desire to buy a handguna Mack 11 from Brill. Near the end of December, 1995, Harris told Brill that he had a friend who was looking to have his wife killed in order to collect insurance and asked Brill to be on the lookout for a triggerman. A few days later, Harris pursued the matter and laid out a scenario for Brill under which Brill would kill the woman as she left workthat he should act like you're robbing her, demand her purse and her money, shoot her down, run straight down behind the building through the alley and I'll be waiting for you in the parking lot. Harris said that he would supply the weapona Glock 19. By the end of the conversation, the plan changed to have the killing occur early in the morning as the lady went to work, but it later reverted to an evening event. Brill agreed to perform the killing for $20,000. The night before the killing was initially planned to occur, according to Brill, Harris gave him both the gun and some gloves to wear. Brill and a friend, Nicholas Jantz, took the gun to the site and test-fired it. He and Jantz then got high on marijuana, however, and the murder had to be postponed. Harris was angry but rescheduled the killing for January 26. On that day, he met Brill and took him to the park where the killing was to occur later in the evening, gave Brill a pager, and said that he would page Brill later to let him know when he and Ms. McLeod would be there. His instruction was that Brill was to force both of them out of the car, shoot and kill Ms. McLeod, and then shoot Harris to make it look like a robbery. Between 8:30 and 9:00 on the 26th, Brill received the page from Harris, put on black clothes, a beany hat, a mask, and the gloves given him by Harris, proceeded to the park, and waited. When Harris arrived, he got out of the car and walked toward Brill, as though he was supposed to meet him there. Brill pulled out the gun and pretended to rob Harris. At Brill's instruction, Harris told Ms. McLeod to get out of the car, and he then backed away to the front of the car. Brill pulled a gold chain off her neck, at which point she began to cry. He then grabbed her purse as she was pleading for her life. Brill testified that she was in tears, she was terrified, and I just looked at Rob, Robert Harris, I said man, I can't do this shit. Although saying nothing, Ms. McLeod looked as if in wonderment how the robber would know Harris's name. Brill started to back away when Harris grabbed the gun, pushed him back, turned to Ms. McLeod, and started firing. She tried to run but fell to the ground, and Harris stood over her and shot her several times. Brill said that at least one bullet hit her before she fell. At that point, Harris, visibly angry, approached Brill and pointed the gun at him. Brill grabbed the gun, took it from Harris, shot him in the leg, and then fled, discarding the necklace as he ran.