Suspect testifies at murder trial

Norman Roberts, a blunt and feisty ex-sailor who slept with a pistol under his pillow for fear of being assaulted, took the stand Thursday to tell a Spokane County Superior Court jury why he shot and killed one man and seriously wounded another during a drunken party at his South Hill apartment last year.

Roberts, 73, is accused of first-degree murder for killing Kenneth G. Conklin Jr. and is charged with first-degree assault for shooting and seriously wounding Thomas Darco on March 6, 2007. His first trial ended in a hung jury in November.

Roberts, who suffers from lung and circulatory problems, said he’d feared a younger assailant might overpower him since he’d been followed home a few years ago after grocery shopping near his apartment at 2811 E. 30th Ave. His best friend and landlord, Joseph Harrington, gave him a .22-caliber revolver for protection after that incident.

Roberts said he was shaken awake on the evening of March 6, 2007, by Harrington’s daughter, Tiffany Harrington Darco, who jumped on his bed and told him to get up and join a drinking party with four other people that had started in his kitchen. His guests had been drinking all day before they arrived.

Roberts said he had an “open door” policy for Harrington’s family, but had only met Conklin once before.

Roberts, under questioning from Public Defender John Whaley, said he was angry that Conklin and Darco were butting chests and fighting in his kitchen – and he feared Conklin, a big man who had bragged about being a street fighter. Roberts had also started drinking early that morning and was legally drunk that night, with a 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level, according to court testimony.

Roberts said he told Conklin and Darco to leave. Harrington left for a few minutes to check on the rest of his office and apartment complex. Roberts said Conklin refused to leave and glowered at him. Roberts went back into his bedroom and got his gun.

“It caused me to think, I’d better get the equalizer. This guy had a real ferocious face,” Roberts said.

Roberts said he returned to the kitchen, pulled back the hammer on his revolver and said, “You’re going to take off, my friend – the party’s over for you.” Conklin called him a filthy name. Roberts fired off a shot, which he thought had hit Conklin in the eye but actually missed. Conklin clutched his eye.

“He then took two more steps and I shot him … (the bullet) went under his arm,” Roberts said. When Harrington came back into the room and bent down to check on Conklin, Roberts said he shoved him away and told him to call the police.

Conklin “was trying to get up, and I shot him again. Tiffany jumped in the closet … then I turned off all the lights and waited for the police,” Roberts said. He also said he doesn’t remember shooting and wounding Darco, Joe Harrington’s son-in-law.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Dale Nagy pressed Roberts on his claims that the shooting was self-defense – prompting some testy exchanges.

“Did anyone else have any firearms in their hands?” Nagy asked.

“They aren’t going to get one, either … After the first shot, I thought he (Conklin) would stop. He did not,” Roberts replied.

Roberts told Nagy he had a right to self defense.

“This guy is 32 years young, mister, and he’s got big fists. He calls me a (epithet) and he’s coming for my guts,” Roberts said.

“You have your best friend, Joe, in the room ready to help you and Conklin is on the ground. … You fire a third shot and you kill him, right?” Nagy asked.

Earlier Thursday, as part of the state’s case, Roberts’ videotaped statement to a police detective on the night of the shootings was shown to the jury.

When Spokane police Detective Donald Giese asked Roberts why he’d shot Conklin three times, Roberts bluntly replied, “I wanted to make sure he was dead.” But he also said later in the interview that he regretted the third shot but was upset about the turmoil in his apartment.

In the videotaped interview, Roberts called Conklin a “bully” who hit his own girlfriend, smoked cocaine and kicked the “little furry dog” – a Shih Tzu named Lola – that belonged to Darco and his wife, Tiffany Darco. The dog was in his apartment at the time of the fight.

During the police interview, Roberts teased Giese about his nickname, “Goose.”

“Look at my face, Goose, did you ever see a sweeter face?” he asked. He added, “I’m not a killer type person, but I dislike dissension.”

The jury heard more details of Roberts’ life.

He left school after the eighth grade, worked as a fisherman as a teenager, spent eight years in the Navy and Navy Reserve in the 1950s and worked for the Merchant Marine until the early 1980s.

He had to retire early because of health problems, including poor circulation in his legs. He moved to Spokane in 1995.

Roberts’ trial resumes Monday in the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Robert D. Austin.