Man claiming to be bystander in shooting not telling truth, police say

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Police continue to investigate shots fired Monday night in Middletown, but say they question the story of a man who said he was a bystander in the incident.

Robert Robinson told police he was walking about 9:30 p.m. on Baltimore Street toward Jacoby Avenue when he saw a black car speeding on Baltimore and a blue car behind it, according to a police report.

Robinson said the people in the blue car were shooting at the black car.

“He turned to get out of the way and stated that he was then shot at least twice in the buttocks,” according to the police report.

Robinson said he took off running and was able to make it to a relative’s house on 16th Avenue. Robinson was transported to Atrium Medical Center for treatment. A bullet taken from Robinson’s body was collected as evidence by detectives.

Middletown police officers found 11 9-millimeter casings in the intersection of Baltimore Street and Jacoby Avenue after reports of shots fired Monday night. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

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The shooting remained under investigation Tuesday afternoon, according to police.

“We believe he (Robinson) is not telling the entire truth,” Lt. Jim Cunningham told this news outlet.

Cunningham said Robinson was shot twice in separate incidents in 2016.

Residents in the 1400 block of Jacoby told officers they heard several gun shots and also saw cars speeding away from the area. Officers found 11 9-millimeter casings in the intersection of Baltimore and Jacoby.

A woman who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation, said she and other residents at her Jacoby home heard the shots.

“It scared me pretty bad. I don’t want to be here anymore,” the woman said. “I didn’t see anything personally, but I sure heard it. It was terrifying, defiantly terrifying.”

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