A King County hothead is heading to the big house for over seven years after using guns he wasn't supposed to have in a road rage shootout. Robby Lee Robinson, 42, has just been slapped with a 90-month sentence for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition following a November incident that turned the southbound lanes of Highway 18 into a scene straight out of an action movie.
The trouble began when an accident evolved into a high-speed chase, with Robinson taking shots at the other driver's tail. U.S. District Judge Tana Lin didn’t mince words at the sentencing hearing, telling Robinson, "You turned a car accident into a dangerous situation for all the people around you on that highway." Despite previous run-ins with the law over guns, Robinson was found with two firearms and ammo in his car when the cops caught up to him in Maple Valley, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Robinson and his wife initially tried to dodge the bullet by claiming the guns were hers, though Robinson was the lone wolf in the car during the chase, during which he fired at the vehicle he was pursuing, according to trial records. The bullets shattered a window of the victim's car with fragments recovered later by law enforcement. Prosecutors were gunning for a nine-year sentence, citing Robinson's “refusal to respect the law,” and pointing out this was not his first offense. “Mr. Robinson grabbed a gun and started shooting at another driver on a busy highway – conduct that could have killed or injured others,” said U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman, as per the U.S. Department of Justice.
Robinson was previously condemned to 90 days for similar crimes, yet he showed no signs of changing his ways. "Despite being convicted of this same offense (illegal firearms possession) and serving a 90-month sentence, Robinson was not deterred," prosecutors wrote in a statement, he grabbed a gun once more and with it, sprayed lead at a random car on the open road. The ATF, Washington State Patrol, and King County Sheriff's Office banded together to investigate the road rage shooter, who also lied about his actions and tried to get his wife to lie under oath at his trial, as cited by the U.S. Department of Justice.
King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall praised the combined effort in nabbing Robinson, saying, “The King County Sheriff’s Office is working tirelessly to remove illegal firearms from our streets." She also thanked the U.S. Department of Justice and local agencies for their support in holding individuals like Robinson accountable. “Together, we are working to make our communities and our residents safer,” she added, per the U.S. Department of Justice.
