Man indicted for allegedly shooting teenager because of victim’s sexual orientation
A federal grand jury in Kansas City has indicted a 25-year-old man on accusations that he tried to kill a teenager because of the victim’s sexual orientation, prosecutors said.
Malachi Robinson, of Kansas City, was charged in a two-count indictment with hate crime and firearm violations for allegedly shooting the 16-year-old victim on May 29, 2019, outside an apartment complex at 3709 East Meyer Boulevard.
Robinson allegedly shot the victim with a handgun, causing “significant” injuries, because of the victim’s sexual orientation, according to the Department of Justice.
If convicted, Robinson would face up to life in prison on the hate crime charge alone.
Attorneys with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are assisting in the prosecution.
Days after the shooting, Jackson County prosecutors charged Robinson with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. In court records, prosecutors said the victim was shot nine times. They called it “an incredibly violent offense.”
“Of those nine shots, three went into the victim’s chest, three went into his right arm, and one struck his finger, causing it to nearly detach,” an assistant prosecuting attorney wrote in court documents.
According to a probable cause statement from Kansas City police, officers responding to the shooting found the victim suffering from several gunshot wounds when they arrived at the scene. Inside his pants pocket was a piece of paper with the name “Mally Robinson” written on it.
The victim later told police he met Robinson while at the Kansas City Public Library’s Southeast Branch roughly half a mile from the apartment complex where the shooting took place. They had discussed having sex through an internet messaging application and walked around for a while before going into the bushes near the apartment complex, the victim told investigators.
As soon as the pair entered the bushes, Robinson started shooting, the victim alleged.
Robinson confessed in a phone call shortly after the shooting, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
The Jackson County case is ongoing. Robinson’s public defender in that case did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
Robinson did not yet have an attorney listed in court records in the federal case.
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 3:00 PM.
