17-year-old sentenced for shooting of Commanders RB Brian Robinson
WASHINGTON – The 17-year-old charged in the attempted robbery and shooting of Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. in August was ordered detained with the city’s youth detention services until he turns 21, the maximum sentence permitted for youths under D.C. law.
The teen sat next to his attorney in D.C. Superior Court on Monday as prosecutors laid out two charges in addition to the robbery. After his arrest following the robbery, a judge ordered the teen committed to the District’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, or DYRS. After several months, the teen was then allowed to live with his father while wearing a GPS ankle monitor and adhering to a curfew.
But in February, prosecutors said, the teen cut the monitor from his ankle and left his father’s home. His whereabouts were unknown until police rearrested him late last month. At the time, police said he was carrying a bottle of promethazine, a narcotic used for an illegal drink known as lean. The teen was charged with absconding and simple possession and was sentenced in all three cases Monday.
The Washington Post generally does not name those charged with crimes as juveniles and was allowed to attend the hearing on the condition that the youth’s identity not be revealed.
In January, the teen pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and carrying a pistol without a license in the attempted robbery and shooting of Robinson. As part of that plea deal, prosecutors agreed to ask that the teen be placed in the custody of the city’s youth services until he turns 20.
Police have said that the 17-year-old and a younger teen tried to rob Robinson as he was leaving a store on H Street NE just before 6 p.m. on Aug. 28. Authorities said the teens tried to steal the NFL player’s wallet and the keys to his Dodge sports car.
According to prosecutors, Robinson ran away and the 17-year-old began to chase him and knocked Robinson to the ground. Robinson then grabbed the teen and wrestled the gun out of the youth’s hands, authorities said. At that point, the other teen fired his weapon, striking Robinson twice.
One of the bullets hit just above Robinson’s knee, the other in his hip area. They missed major ligaments and bone, and the running back played this past season. The younger teen also pleaded guilty in the incident and was ordered to remain in youth services custody until he turns 21.
Robinson was not present at the sentencing, nor did he submit a victim impact statement.
District prosecutor Arynn Graham called the 17-year-old “a danger to the community” and said his “behavior could have ended a life and cut short a star athlete’s career.”
The youth was supposed to have been sentenced last month but was missing until his rearrest.
The teen declined to comment at his sentencing. His attorney, Brian W. Brown, asked that his client be placed in a psychiatric facility for the majority of his detainment.
In his sentencing, Judge Robert A. Salerno went outside the plea agreement with prosecutors and ordered the teen committed until age 21. Graham told the judge that prosecutors within the D.C. attorney general’s office felt compelled to adhere to the original plea deal and would not seek additional punishment for the two new charges.
But Salerno said he felt no such obligation and ordered the teen placed in restricted youth confinement where he would also undergo psychological treatment and counseling.
Salerno said he was ordering the teen detained to allow him “time to reflect on your conduct. So, when you finish your commitment, you can become successful and law-abiding.”