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Man who killed Virginia Beach pharmacist sentenced to life in prison

Posted at 8:36 AM, May 27, 2015
and last updated 2015-05-27 17:40:58-04

Virginia Beach, Va. (WTKR) -The man who shot and killed a beloved Virginia Beach pharmacist will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Walter Hubbard was sentenced Wednesday in Virginia Beach Circuit Court for the murder of Pharmacist David Kilgore.

He also received another 48 years of prison time for additional charges of robbery, attempted robbery, use of a firearm while committing a felony and attempted capital murder of a police officer.

Hubbard entered a guilty plea to all the charges against him in February.

They stem from April 14, 2014 when he was high on Oxycodone.

Hubbard broke into a neighbor's home, stealing a gun and car, before driving himself to Kilgore's Beach Pharmacy on Laskin Road.

Surveillance video  shows Hubbard demanding the prescription painkillers as he pointed his gun at Kilgore.

When Kilgore refused to hand over the drugs and pulled out his own gun, Hubbard shot him and then ran away.

From there, he drove to Barr's Pharmacy at the Oceanfront, where he robbed them of the drugs he was seeking before leading Virginia Beach Police on a high-speed chase on I-264 and Virginia Beach Boulevard.

During that pursuit, which ended in a crash at Witchduck Road, Hubbard fired his gun out the window at police officers.

After he was arrested, Hubbard talked exclusively to NewsChannel 3 from jail the very next day.

In that interview with Todd Corillo, Hubbard claimed he didn't remember the shooting, refusing to answer questions about where he got the gun or what happened leading up to the shooting when pressed by Corillo.

"I just remember the police jumping on me in the middle of the street, broke my nose, tore my hands up, tore my knee up. Could have been a lot worse though," he stated.

408 days after he shot and killed Kilgore, Hubbard faced the pharmacist's family in court for his sentencing.

Kilgore's mother, sister, daughter and wife all took the stand - each tearfully reading victim impact statements.

During each statement, Hubbard refused to make eye contact, often looking down or away, showing no emotion and barely acknowledging the family as they spoke.

Ida Kilgore, David's mother, talked about the loss of her little boy who as a 12-year-old would ride his bicycle to three different lawn mowing jobs, each at least an acre large.

She said she can hardly sleep at night anymore and that she never knew what depression was before Hubbard murdered her son.

Roni Kilgore, David's sister, said all she has now are some videos and pictures of her brother.

She called David her lion, and talked about the loss of his Batman to her Robin.

Ashley Baum, David's only daughter, broke down before she could even start her statement.

She told the court that the murder had "ripped my world apart" and "I truly wish this was all a dream."

Lynne Kilgore, David's wife of 23 years, was the last to take the stand.

She spoke of losing her life partner, her tremendous pain, her anger and immense sadness.

Commonwealth Attorney Collin Stolle also asked her to describe a photo from NewsChannel 3 that showed flowers and notes that filled the parking lot and curb outside the Beach Pharmacy in the days after David Kilgore's murder.

Lynne Kilgore described how beloved David was in the Oceanfront community.

Following the victim impact statements, Hubbard's court-appointed defense attorney said his client was severely addicted to pain medications.

While not an excuse, he argued it was an explanation as to why he entered the Beach Pharmacy on April 14, 2014 looking for more.

In his argument before the court, Commonwealth Attorney Collin Stolle presented excerpts from letters Hubbard wrote from jail two to three months after he was arrested.

Stolle said those letters showed a lack of remorse.

In one, Hubbard wrote, "You can see my getaway Bonnie and Clyde without Bonnie."

In another, "I felt like Jesse James on April 14th, 2014 when I was trucking down the highway poping [sic] rounds of Kloak 9 Hollow Points, keeping the Pigs at Bay."

Talking about the police dash cam and pharmacy surveillance video, Hubbard wrote "I'm suppose [sic] to watch a video soon of that day. I'm going to try and buy some popcorn with Butter and Salt. I like a mystery and suspense movie, HA! HA!"

"That was his mentality. Not remorse for what he did, but almost some sort of perverse pride in his actions that day," Stolle told NewsChannel 3's Todd Corillo.

When he stood before judge prior to sentencing, Hubbard turned and looked at the Kilgore family for the first and only time in a nearly two-hour long proceeding, saying "I'm sorry as I can be."

Circuit Court Judge William O'Brien then said Hubbard's remorse was "woefully too little and too late."

He sentenced Hubbard to life in prison for the murder of David Kilgore.

On the three counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, Hubbard was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

For the robbery charge, O'Brien sentenced Hubbard to 20 years in prison, with 10 suspended.

On the attempted robbery charge, Hubbard was sentenced to 10 years with 5 suspended.

Hubbard was also sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempted capital murder of a law enforcement officer.

His total sentence for all the charges was life in prison plus 48 active years.

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