Headlines News

1 week, 3 shootings

1 suspect caught after chase; 2 more sought

Robinson

By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer

With the only suspect in one shooting now in custody, Atmore Police Department detectives can concentrate on investigating the other two shootings that have occurred within the city over a period of six days.
The first shooting, and the most serious of the three, came on April 25, when 28-year-old Scottie Dale Robinson of Atmore allegedly shot his brother and another man during an apparent argument at a 6th Street residence.
Gregory Lavon Robinson, 33, and 19-year-old Oneius Cortz White, both of Atmore, were critically wounded in the incident, and both had to be flown to area trauma centers by medical evacuation helicopter.
Police learned of Robinson’s shooting when staff at Atmore Community Hospital reported that a man with a gunshot wound was being treated at the facility. Officers questioned him, then backtracked to the residence where the shooting reportedly took place, where they discovered that White had also been shot.
Two warrants charging attempted murder were obtained against Scottie Robinson, and local authorities issued a lookout for him. An officer received a call last Tuesday afternoon (April 27) from a person who said the suspect “intimidated and threatened him” when the two encountered each other at a McDavid, Fla. convenience store.
APD Chief Chuck Brooks said the suspect began to follow the other man along Fla. 29, but eventually turned his Lexus around and headed back toward Pensacola before changing his mind.
“He then turned back north on 29 near Molino (Fla.) and cut across to (Fla.) 97, headed for Atmore” Brooks reported. “Our officers set up at the state line and tried to stop him there.”
But Robinsons reportedly avoided the roadblock and the spike strips police had placed in the roadway and headed into the city’s southwestern residential sector around 2 p.m.
The police chief, his pickup’s siren wailing and blue lights flashing, got behind the suspect as he raced his car northward on Presley Street. Robinson then turned down Craig Street and headed for Main, still at a high rate of speed, as other officers joined the chase.
“We stayed with him through town, but he left us behind, and we discontinued our pursuit at Walmart,” Brooks said.
The owner of a local sports grill said the Lexus roared across the railroad tracks that separate North and South Main Street.
“The guy’s car sounded like it was coming apart going over the train tracks, how fast he was going,” said Kelly Kayy White. “I was cleaning the shop windows and nearly came out of my skin.”
Meanwhile, Alabama State Troopers spotted the luxury sedan as it continued northward on Ala. 21 and gave chase as Robinson headed north on the interstate.
The chase ended several minutes later when the suspect crashed his car just south of Evergreen. He was placed under arrest by troopers and taken by ambulance to an undisclosed hospital. As of Tuesday, May 4, Robinson had been discharged from the hospital and processed into the Escambia County Detention Center.
Second shooting
Just hours after Robinson’s capture, another shooting took place.
Just before 11 that night. APD patrol officers and EMS personnel were dispatched to a 4th Avenue residence after a man, whose name has not been released by police, returned home after a short time away and told a witness he had been shot.
Reports show that the wounded man, who refused to name his shooter, was taken to Atmore Community Hospital.
Police have not yet made an arrest in that incident, nor have they named a suspect or person of interest.
Third shooting
Things quieted down for three days, but gunfire erupted on the basketball court at Houston Avery Park around 8:45 p.m., Friday, April 30.
Police learned of the shooting when ACH personnel reported another patient being treated there who had been shot.
Officers rushed to the local hospital, where they discovered a 16-year-old male who was suffering from a single gunshot wound.
According to witnesses, the victim was watching a basketball game at the northwest Atmore recreational area when a lone gunman discharged a weapon. The teen, who might or might not have been the intended victim, was hit by a bullet. He was stabilized at the local hospital before being flown to an undisclosed area medical facility.
Neither the victim nor any of the nearly three dozen individuals at the park claimed to know who fired the shot, and no arrest had been made by Tuesday’s press deadline.
Brooks said he couldn’t remember when the city had three shootings in such a short span.
“It’s rare,” he said.
The police chief urged anyone having information about any of the three shootings to call police at 251-368-9141.