Man charged for 9-year-old girl’s murder petitions to withdraw guilty plea
D'pree Robinson (Courtesy: Hennepin County Sheriff's Office)
A Minneapolis man is trying to withdraw a guilty plea for killing a 9-year-old girl because he says he was on pain medication when he entered the plea.
Twenty-year-old D’pree Shareef Robinson entered a guilty plea for the 2021 murder of Trinity Ottoson-Smith on March 6.
On Tuesday, Robinson petitioned to withdraw that plea because he says he was under the influence of oxycodone and sleeping pills during the plea hearing, due to a recent hernia surgery.
A motion to dismiss the plea states that Robinson did not knowingly waive his trial rights.
Ottoson-Smith was shot on May 15 while she was playing on a trampoline in the backyard of her friend’s home on North Ilion Avenue. Police say the suspect was driving down the alley and fired at a home, hitting the girl. She died less than two weeks later.
The complaint goes on to say one of the three people, identified as males, chased after the vehicle and appeared to return fire three times. Police say they found three discharged cartridge casings in the alley.
After reviewing the video, police say they determined the vehicle used in the drive-by shooting was a 2014 Ford Fusion with Minnesota license plates and found the vehicle was registered to Robinson. Police also found Robinson’s last known cellphone was in the same area as the suspect vehicle at the time of the shooting.
Investigators with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said the victim was the unintended target of a gang-related drive-by shooting.
According to the complaint, Robinson claimed on his social media accounts he was “an active shooter for the Black Disciples Criminal Street Gang,” made references to firearms and shooting, and also referred to himself as a “Gangster Disciple Killer,” a rival gang of the Black Disciples.
RELATED: Family of 9-year-old shot in Minneapolis: ‘Kids just can’t be kids, something’s got to give’
Robinson was arrested on Feb. 23, 2022, on suspicion of second-degree murder.
A public defender for Robinson said he mostly responded to questions in the plea hearing with “yes” or “no” statements and that he told prosecutors he felt something was impeding his mental state.
RELATED: Murder charge filed against man accused of fatally shooting 9-year-old girl
Robinson is set to appear back in court for a hearing on June 20 at 9 a.m.