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Judge who tossed jury’s murder verdict finds man not guilty at new trial

Bethany Bruner
A Columbus man who fatally shot another man during a December 2023 altercation and was convicted of murder before having that verdict overturned will not spend any time in prison.

LaRoy Robinson, 51, initially faced murder, felonious assault and other charges in connection with the Dec. 2, 2023, shooting death of 46-year-old Malik Islam.

On April 16, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Mark Serrott convicted Robinson of illegally having weapons after a prior felony conviction. Serrott found Robinson not guilty of murder, felonious assault, tampering with evidence and improperly shooting a firearm.

Serrott sentenced Robinson to five years of probation. As part of his sentence, Robinson is required to pay a $1,000 fine and all court costs and fees.

Robinson went to trial in May 2024, and a jury convicted him of murder and other charges. After the trial, and following a motion from Robinson’s attorney, Serrott set aside the jury verdict.

In his decision, Serrott said he gave the jury improper instructions on how to evaluate whether Robinson acted in self-defense, which led to an error of law that left no other choice but to undo the verdict.

On April 13, Robinson had a second trial but waived his right for a jury, instead asking Serrott to hear the evidence and decide the case himself.

Robinson presented evidence at his trial that around 12:10 a.m. Dec. 2, he was sitting in a parked car on the 2000 block of Cornell Avenue on the city’s Northeast Side when Islam approached him and became verbally aggressive.

After a second verbal confrontation, Robinson testified Islam reached into his pocket for what Robinson thought was a gun. Robinson fired a single shot, hitting Islam and then drove away from the scene.

Robinson said the shooting was in self-defense and Islam was known to have a reputation for being violent and dangerous.

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Dispatch

As a convicted felon Mr. Robinson most likely also has a reputation, but his story is the only one told.

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