MINNEAPOLIS — The man accused of firing a shot that killed a little girl playing on a trampoline now wants to withdraw his guilty plea in the case.
Attorneys for Dpree Shareff Robinson entered a motion to withdraw the plea of second-degree murder, saying the 21-year-old was on pain and sleeping medication following surgery for a hernia when he agreed to the deal on March 6.
In the motion Robinson maintains his memory of that day is "fuzzy" and that he would not have entered the plea or agreed to a 450-month (37 1/2 years), prison sentence, of which he would serve two-thirds.
"Mr. Robinson argues that the plea was not truly voluntary because he was still under medication for his hernia surgery four days ago and was still on oxycodone and he was not truly realizing the choices he had regarding the plea because of his chemical use," reads the motion to vacate the plea.
Robinson and his legal team are moving to take the case to trial instead.
In court documents prosecutors described Robinson as a man "with ties to an area gang" and say he was attempting a "drive-by shooting" when a stray bullet hit 9-year-old Trinity Ottoson-Smith on May 15, 2021. Trinity was playing with friends on a backyard trampoline in the Jordan neighborhood that day when she was struck in the head.
The little girl died from her injuries 12 days later at North Memorial Hospital.
Investigators say they tied Robinson to Trinity's death by tracing his social media history and finding he engaged in threatening social media communications with a male resident at the house where the child was shot. Search warrants also revealed Robinson exchanging messages with his girlfriend, in which she called him a "child killer" and said "I hope you die for killin that lil girl."
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