Prior charge against alleged Facebook Live killer Johnathan Robinson dismissed Rannita Nunu Williams
Channel: They Devils
Date: 2022-05-14

Prior charge against alleged Facebook Live killer Johnathan Robinson dismissed Rannita Nunu Williams #johnathanrobinson #rannitawilliams #facebooklive @facebookapp 

Before he became known as the alleged Facebook Live killer, Johnathan Tremaine Robinson already was well known to Shreveport police and the Caddo Parish criminal justice system.

Over the past two decades, the 37-year-old Shreveport man racked up a dozen arrests and served 10 years behind bars on convictions for aggravated battery and robbery.

But the horror behind the death of Rannita Williams on April 12 brought new focus to the criminal past of Robinson after he allegedly fatally shot Williams in her own home, streaming the deadly crime live on Facebook.

Through a public records request, KSLA Investigates obtained criminal files against Robinson from the Caddo Parish district attorney’s office.

During a thorough examination of the records behind five of Robinson’s most recent arrests, one case stood out - a 2014 charge for possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute.

While the allegations against Robinson did not seem extraordinary, what raised eyebrows was the fact that the case froze after the arraignment phase of prosecution for 2.5 years then the charge suddenly was dropped without explanation.

As it turns out, Robinson’s court-appointed attorney ended up being a commercial litigator and not a criminal defense lawyer.

And the attorney initiated a legal fight early in the case for $3,000. According to court records, he claimed the money was necessary to initiate an investigation.

Without the money, Robinson’s lawyer argued, he could not adequately defend Robinson.

When both the local and state public defender’s offices said the was no money to pay for an investigation, Robinson’s lawyer filed a stay in the case then spent the next year appealing the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On July 31, 2014, in Shreveport’s Allendale neighborhood, narcotics officers set their sights on a specific house after getting tips from neighbors who said Robinson and his brother allegedly were selling drugs there.

According to an investigative report, the Robinson brothers and another man were sitting on the porch when officers arrived. After they searched the area, officers say they found drugs, cash and a gun. All three men were arrested for possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute.

For his part in the alleged crime, Robinson faced a minimum of five years at hard labor if convicted as charged.

However, he never faced that drug charge in court. Prosecutors finally and suddenly dismissed the charge without explanation in 2017.

“It’s a case that could have and should have ended, again this is just my judgment, in no more than six months,” said J. Florence, a criminal lawyer hired to represent one of the other two who were arrested alongside Robinson.

KSLA Investigates discovered the court appointed a corporate lawyer to defend Robinson.

That’s something Florence said happened a lot back in 2014.

According to Florence, the Caddo public defender’s office was going broke. And that prompted courts to assign lawyers with no criminal experience to represent defendants for free, he added.

"To say that a person is not qualified, that’s no disrespect to them. It’s just a reality; it’s not what they do.”

Florence also attests that some attorneys found ways to get out of unwanted assignments.

“A lot of the civil lawyers filed all kinds of motions, attempting to go all the way to the Supreme Court to again delay and make the point ‘Hey, we’re not qualified; you need to take us off these cases'.”

In the Robinson drug case, KSLA Chief Investigative Reporter Stacey Cameron found one motion that brought everything to a standstill for almost two years.

Documents show the court appointed a corporate lawyer who wanted $3,000 to initiate an investigation. But when both the local and state public defender’s offices said they didn’t have the funds, records show Robinson’s lawyer filed a motion to stay the case.

“Which basically means everything is frozen," Florence said.

“My client and I objected. Our argument was we are ready to proceed, we’re ready to go forward, we’re ready to try this case, to prove my client is innocent. But we had to wait.”

According to documents, Robinson’s attorney started with the trial court, then the court of appeal in Shreveport. Ultimately, the battle for $3,000 ended at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Robinson’s attorney lost each time.

KSLA Investigates reached out to Robinson’s lawyer at the time, but messages have gone unanswered.

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