MIAMI, Fla. – One of two men accused in the shooting death of a 7-year-old girl in Brownsville last July surprised a judge in a Miami-Dade courtroom and even his attorney when he made an announcement that could get him the death penalty.
Appearing by Zoom on Friday, Antonio Robinson said: “Thirty years is too much. I will not be taking it.”
Robinson was supposed to have been sentenced to 30 years in prison after accepting a plea deal.
The judge asked Robinson’s lawyer. “I’m sorry, Ms. Delgado? I’m terribly confused.”
“Me too,” Robinson’s attorney responded, especially since accepting a 30-year-prison sentence was Robinson’s idea.
Upon hearing the declaration, the prosecution made it clear that they will be seeking the death penalty for Robinson.
Alana Washington, 7, her aunt, uncle and one-year-old relative were just returning to a home on Northwest 51st Street and 29th Avenue on July 25, 2021, when a car drove up and someone opened fire. Robinson is one of two men, along with Jarvis Baker-Flanders, charged in the crime. It is alleged that Robinson was the driver.
Alana was the only one killed in the shooting.
Alana’s mother, Shanlavie Drayton, who was surrounded by family members as she left the courthouse Friday said, “We pray for justice.”
She said her daughter “was and still is a beautiful child. She is our angel. That’s who Alana Washington is, was and will always be.”
The other suspect, Baker-Flanders, has a hearing set for February.