Man sentenced in accidental killing of brother in Strip hotel room
Before her son was sentenced to three years’ probation for killing his brother, a tearful Glorika Briley addressed the judge.
“I am the mother of a victim. And I’m also the mother of the person who is responsible,” she wailed during the sentencing hearing Friday. “Unbelievably, the moment it happened, I forgave him.”
Briley’s oldest son, Chance Wilson, admitted to accidentally shooting his teenage brother in a Las Vegas Strip hotel room. He was initially charged with murder in the March killing of his 16-year-old sibling, Dailin Wilson.
The 20-year-old California man pleaded guilty in June to voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon. He will serve his probation at his home in Palmdale.
During the hearing Friday, Briley told District Judge Michelle Leavitt that her son Dailin was an amazing boy who often took care of his younger siblings. He took Advanced Placement classes at his high school and had dreams of playing basketball at UCLA. He wanted to join the NBA.
Briley, a single mother, said her kids are close. Chance Wilson helped raise his younger brother and helped him get ready on his first day of school.
He was negligent and irresponsible the day he pulled out the gun, but his intentions were not to hurt his younger brother, she insisted.
“I know this is a horrible mistake,” Briley said before asking the judge to impose a lighter sentence. “He has to live with this for the rest of his life.”
Briley called Dailin an angel who often visits her in her dreams. He hugs her and lets her know everything is OK, she told the judge.
He was shot in the head at the Hilton Grand Vacations, 2650 Las Vegas Blvd. South, near Sahara Avenue, while the family was in town to celebrate two birthdays. Before the shooting, Chance Wilson attempted to scare his brother by sneaking up behind him and displaying a gun, according to his arrest report.
“To do this, Chance came out and yelled ‘Boom!’ and pulled the trigger of a gun he had in his hand,” police wrote. “Chance did not believe the gun was loaded.”
The shooting was witnessed by two other siblings, who were 13 and 8 at the time, as they ate cereal together at a table in the room, the report states.
On Friday, defense attorney James Gallo said his client is going to therapy and coaching youth football, and is in the process of getting his high school diploma.
“It appears to me that it was an accident,” Leavitt said before asking the defendant why he had a gun in the first place.
“I just put it together. I was in the process of getting my license to carry,” he said, adding that he did not know it was loaded. “I made the wrong decision.”
Leavitt ordered him to pay $5,000 in restitution. If he violates probation, he will face a maximum of 15 years in prison.
Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.