A man who had agreed to plead guilty to murder on the condition that he be allowed to hug his two sisters didn't get his wish Tuesday.
But Kenneth Wilson still stuck with his guilty plea after authorities let him spend a couple of hours with his two sons and his girlfriend, and also have a cheeseburger and fries from Jack in the Box.
The unusual plea deal had been hammered out last week in Fresno County Superior Court, when Wilson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and carjacking in the connection with the Feb. 19, 2008, shooting death of in Julian "Julio" Barajas, 41, of Fresno.
As part of the agreement, Wilson asked to hug his two sisters. That never happened because of a mix-up within the Sheriff's Department, which runs the jail and worked on Wilson's plea request.
But for two hours last Wednesday, Wilson got to talk with his girlfriend and hold her hand, play with one son, who was 18 months old when he was arrested in April 2008, and rock his younger son to sleep, said defense attorneys James Lambe and Jane Boulger.
Seeing Wilson cradle his youngest son was especially touching, Boulger said, because his girlfriend was pregnant when he was arrested. "This was the first time he got to hold his son," Boulger said.
For the visit, Boulger purchased a cheeseburger combo for Wilson and a child's chicken strip meal for Wilson's older son.
In court Tuesday, Wilson could have withdrawn his guilty plea and gone to trial because he didn't get to hug his sisters, his lawyers said. But Boulger told Judge Jonathan Conklin that Wilson wanted to thank sheriff's detectives Sergio Toscano and Hector Palma for putting the family visit together.
The plea agreement mandates that Wilson spend life in prison without parole, prosecutor Burton Francis said.
Outside court, Wilson's attorneys said he pleaded guilty because his family didn't want him to face the death penalty. Francis said he was not opposed or in favor of Wilson's plea agreement, largely because of the way Wilson "unmercifully" killed Barajas.
Fresno County sheriff's detectives say Wilson, 31, told Barajas that he was interested in buying his 1999 Chevy S10 Blazer and asked him to drive it to Auberry. But when Barajas showed up, Wilson shot and killed him and then drove off with his vehicle.
Wilson was arrested a few months later near the Big Sandy Rancheria, where he was staying in a hidden campsite with his girlfriend and 18-month-old son. The stolen Blazer was found hidden nearby.
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