Pascagoula, MS: Alfred Darryl Robinson sentenced to 28 years in prison for Valentines Day killing

Published: Thursday, May 19, 2011, 6:00 AM
By Kaija Wilkinson

Alfred Darryl Robinson
PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- A Moss Point man pleaded guilty to manslaughter and burglary charges Wednesday and was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the Valentine's Day AK-47 shooting in 2009 that killed his girlfriend.
Alfred Darryl Robinson, who was originally charged with murder, waived a jury trial scheduled for this week and pleaded guilty to the lesser charges.
Based on state attorneys' recommendation, Judge Dale Harkey sentenced him to 20 years in prison on the manslaughter charge and eight years in prison on the burglary charge. After serving those sentences consecutively, he is to serve five years probation under supervision of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Wearing a loose, blue T-shirt tucked into jeans, Robinson told Harkey that he knew he shot and killed 39-year-old Tonia Wells, but because of blood loss from his own self-inflicted gunshot wound, could remember little else.
Attorney Calvin Taylor said his client is convinced that a jury trial would have resulted in a conviction.
Further, Taylor said, Robinson, 48, knows and admitted he did it.
Based on 911 calls from Wells, Robinson and their relatives from that day, as well as other evidence, "it's pretty clear what happened in that house in 2009," Taylor said.
The shooting happened around 8 p.m. on Yaupon Avenue, and police said that Robinson and Wells were in an on-and-off romantic relationship.
Assistant District Attorney Cherie Wade said Wednesday that the shooting occurred following a cookout during which Robinson got drunk and passed out in a bedroom.
After Wells made him leave, he went to his truck, got the AK-47 and broke into the house with the intent to harm Wells, Wade said. Wells called 911 and named Robinson as her assailant, according to police reports.
Officers working the case said at the time that Robinson was also shot at the house, and also made an emergency call.
He shot Wells, then himself, in the stomach, according to testimony.
Wells called the Moss Point Police Department while Robinson called the Jackson County Sheriff's Department at about the same time.
Wells later died at Singing River Hospital of a single gunshot wound.
Robinson was in critical condition at the hospital for a time, but recovered and was released.
Wade, speaking on behalf of the victim's family, told Harkey that Wells' untimely death has caused "great pain and suffering" for a close-knit family, many of whom packed the left side of the courtroom on Wednesday. After the sentencing, several women broke out into sobs.
"(Wells)," Wade said, "was the baby sister of the family, and a shining star."
She is survived by a 10-year-old son that family members are now caring for.
Taylor described the incident as "a tragedy for both of these Moss Point families." He added that his client had never been in trouble before the incident, and has consistently held a full-time job, most recently as a meat cutter at a local deli.
"He's ready to start serving his sentence," Taylor said. "He wants to pay the price for what he did."