Krebs was charged with second-degree murder for stabbing a Fort Lauderdale man to death in 2011.
Krebs' case was big news, occupying major column inches in the Sun-Sentinel and New Times itself, which devoted an entire cover story to the murder. But the killing was five years ago, and in that time, Krebs' case somehow hadn't gone to trial. Until last week.
According to Broward County Court records, Krebs was finally plunked in front of a jury on Monday, June 6, and stood trial every day last week except Friday. He's due back in court for the fifth — and final — day of
Krebs, now 43, is accused of killing local drummer Jimmy Pagano, then 57, at Fort Lauderdale's Fishtales Restaurant and Nightclub, off NE 33rd Street and North Ocean Boulevard. Krebs was
Eventually, a few of the bar's regulars, who by that point were milling about, smoking cigarettes, and playing pool, told him to get out.
"Tell you what," Pagano — one of the city's most-beloved musicians and concert promoters — said to Krebs. "I'll pay your tab if you get the hell out of here. Just go."
At this, a fight broke out, and Krebs — who has a long history of violent incidents and arrests — allegedly plunged a knife into Pagano's neck, killing him in seconds. Krebs is now charged with second-degree murder and five counts of attempted second-degree murder with a weapon.
It's taken five years for the case to reach trial. Richard Castillo, Krebs' lawyer, said it's simply taken that long to depose each of the 75 witnesses in the case before a trial could begin.
"My partner and I picked the case up two, two and a half years ago," he said. "None of the depositions had been done. So we had to take
Krebs took the stand last Thursday. According to Castillo, Krebs is claiming he attacked in self-defense: Castillo said Krebs' injuries were so severe, he would have died had he not been operated on. "He had internal bleeding," Castillo said. "They had to 'resect' some of his intestines. He also had injuries to his colon, so they removed his colon; had he not been operated on he would have died."
Castillo alleges that his client, upon "acting like a jackass" and "making a check out to 'The Biggest Cunt Ever,'" was almost dragged out of the bar by one man. The two got into a fight, and then Pagano jumped into the fray. Krebs is claiming he was hit in the back with something that "felt like getting stabbed," which led him, in turn, to stab Pagano in the neck.
But Krebs has apparently had some issues keeping himself out of trouble while in jail, too. On May 13, 2011, Krebs got into a fight with another inmate. After getting put on lockdown for 20 days, he said his medication "made him angry," and that he was just "having a bad day."