Suspected Philly serial killer sentenced to 7 life terms, 296 years in prison

A suspected serial killer who was convicted of murdering two people and accused of killing six others in Delaware and Pennsylvania in 2021 will spend the rest of his life in prison.

On Wednesday, Keith Gibson, 41, of Philadelphia, was declared a habitual offender and sentenced in New Castle County Superior Court to seven life terms, as well as 296 years in prison for 22 convictions in connection to a crime spree in 2021 that left two people dead.

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On May 15, 2021, Gibson shot and killed Leslie Ruiz-Basilio, 28, during a robbery at a Metro PCS store on Kirkwood Highway in Elsmere, Delaware, and stole her vehicle.

Less than a month later, Gibson shot and killed Ronald Wright, 42, during a robbery. Over the following three days, Gibson robbed or assaulted another three victims.

Gibson was arrested on June 8, 2021, in connection with one of the robberies at a Wilmington Rite Aid in which he shot and injured a store clerk.

In November, 2023, Gibson was convicted of four counts of murder, attempted murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, four counts of robbery, conspiracy, theft of a motor vehicle, wearing body armor during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited.

“Our prosecutors did phenomenal work on a deeply disturbing case,” Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said. “The defendant carried out a vicious, cold-blooded crime spree, killing two and injuring two people in Delaware, and facing pending charges for yet more violence in Pennsylvania. He was armed and wearing a bulletproof vest when law enforcement arrested him, and it is difficult to fathom how much more destruction he would have caused had he not been apprehended. I’m proud of our prosecutors and of law enforcement who ensured that he will spend the rest of his life in a prison cell. Above all else, we are thinking of his victims, including those whose lives were cut short and whose families are still healing from this man’s crimes.” 

Last year, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner also approved murder charges against Gibson in the killings of his mother and a Philadelphia doughnut shop manager, as well as the deaths of two men found shot in the head at a store in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood. Authorities had said at the time they would pursue those charges after Gibson was prosecuted in Delaware.

Delaware prosecutors relied heavily on video surveillance footage showing the robberies and shootings of Ruiz-Basilio and the Delaware store clerk. 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.

Clothing and other evidence, including a bicycle belonging to Gibson found near the cellphone store, also pointed to Gibson as the gunman in each of the crimes, said prosecutors, who noted that a friend of Gibson identified him as the man seen in surveillance footage from the shooting scenes.

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.

Keith Gibson's violent rampage

Gibson is accused of going 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.

Surveillance footage from May 15, 2021, at the Metro PCS store in Elsmere shows Ruiz-Basilio being confronted by a gunman, who takes her to the back of the store and shoots her in the head at point-blank range as her arms are raised. He then walks out of the store with stolen cash and cellphones and drives away in her SUV. The stolen vehicle was later recovered in Philadelphia near Gibson’s home.

A victim who was shot on June 6, 2021, 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 the store clerk again. The victim survived and testified in Gibson’s trial.

The clerk was shot one day after Wright was killed in his Wilmington residence, which prosecutors said was a known “drug house.” Gibson was later found with a shoulder bag in which prosecutors said Wright kept his drugs.

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.

After the cellphone store robbery, authorities arrested a man with one of the stolen phones. Data stored on the device included Gibson’s phone number.

Gibson was arrested on June 8, 2021, after the robbery of a Wilmington Rite Aid store, during which a clerk gave him a bundle of cash containing a GPS tracking device. When police arrested him, 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 hidden near the spot where police arrested Gibson.