Mo. man sentenced for shooting 16-year-old boy 8 times because of his sexual orientation
04/21/2023 11:59 am PDT
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (TCD) -- A federal judge sentenced a 25-year-old man this week to over two decades in prison for shooting a teenager eight times because of his sexual orientation.
According to a news release from the Department of Justice, on May 29, 2019, Malachi Robinson and the victim, identified as M.S., who was 16 years old at the time, spoke via Facebook Messenger and met outside the Kansas City Public Library for what prosecutors called a "chance encounter." Surveillance footage reportedly revealed M.S. walking away and then Robinson catching up to him, and they continued walking together in the Swope Park area.
The Justice Department said Robinson suggested they go to a nearby wooded area "under the guise of looking for a place to engage in a sex act." However, at the same time, Robinson reportedly wrote to his girlfriend that he "'might shoot this boy' because of his sexual orientation."
Upon entering the wooded area, the Justice Department said M.S. changed his mind and started to leave, but Robinson pulled out a Taurus 9 mm pistol and shot M.S. in an attempt to kill him. M.S. was reportedly able to make it to the sidewalk in front of the woods, and he later collapsed in front of an apartment building. A bystander called for help, and M.S. was transported to a hospital in critical condition.
According to the Justice Department, M.S. endured eight gunshot wounds but was released from the hospital two weeks later. As a result of the shooting, he has since suffered long-term health effects and required multiple surgeries and physical therapy. There are still several bullets inside his body.
To avoid arrest, Robinson reportedly fled the woods and ran toward his apartment. According to the Justice Department, Robinson told other individuals he shot M.S. "because of his sexual orientation."
Several months later, on Aug. 10, 2021, Robinson was indicted by a grand jury and placed into federal custody. He pleaded guilty on July 7, 2022, to one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
The Justice Department announced Thursday, April 20, that U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes sentenced Robinson to 262 months in federal prison without parole.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said, "This defendant’s sentence holds him accountable for the violent and callous hate crime perpetrated against a defenseless teenager targeted because of their LGBTQ+ status."
U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore for the Western District of Missouri added, "To ambush and shoot an unwitting victim, who posed no threat to him, for no other reason than his sexual orientation is reprehensible behavior that won’t be tolerated."
Moore continued, "Our entire community must stand together against acts of violence motivated by hatred for any group of people. The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the civil rights of all citizens and prosecuting those who illegally threaten those rights."
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