Defense claims Devega suffers from brain damage in sentencing phase of trial
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A jury will soon decide whether a Raleigh man lives or dies for murdering a young mother.
Armond Devega shot convenience store clerk, Stephanie Anderson, because she couldn't open a safe.
Whether Devega is sentenced to death or life without parole, Anderson's family says justice has been served.
Tuesday, Devega's defense team spent the day calling psychological experts to the stand. They testified that the 32-year-old has brain damage, possibly from beatings by his father.
The damage, they claim, keeps him from acting empathetic and reading other people's emotions.
Apparently, they hope to convince jurors that's why he gunned Anderson in 2008.
The jury convicted him of the murder Monday after watching surveillance video in which Anderson told an armed robber she doesn't know how to open the safe.
As she pleads "Please, Jesus," the robber shoots her.
Anderson's family refuses to accept brain damage as an explanation for his actions.
"I don't buy it at all. I really don't," said Anderson's sister, Lachanda Powell. "You know, they're just, they're trying to save his life. You know, but Stephanie can't be saved. She begged for hers, but he took it anyway."
The defense told the judge they expect to wrap up on Wednesday.
This is the first death penalty in Wake County in nearly seven years.
