Second man sentenced in deadly shooting of Trotwood man

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

A second man was sentenced to prison for his role in a Trotwood deadly shooting and multi-county police chase that ended near Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.

William J. Denny, II, 37, of Yorkville, Ohio, was sentenced Friday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to 12 years in prison for the March 2020 death of 41-year-old David B. Robinson, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

Denny previously pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, tampering with evidence and having weapons under disability, according to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court records. The sentence will be served following a two-year sentence from a failure to comply conviction in Hamilton County.

His co-defendant, Dustin Hatfield, was sentenced to 24 years to life in prison in October 2020 after a jury found him guilty of murder, felonious assault, tampering with evidence and failure to comply with order or signal of police officer.

Credit: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction

Credit: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction

Trotwood police responded March 28, 2020, to a report of shots fired and a man down at Robinson’s Elkins Avenue home, according to the prosecutor’s office.

A witness gave a description of two men and a vehicle that fled the scene.

Miamisburg police later found a vehicle believed to be driven by the two suspects and attempted a traffic stop. The vehicle fled, leading to a chase through multiple jurisdictions and counties.

During the chase the suspects, later identified as Denny and Hatfield, threw multiple items from the vehicle, including the disassembled murder weapon, according to the prosecutor’s office. The Ohio State Highway Patrol used tire deflation devices as the chase approached downtown Cincinnati, and the vehicle eventually crashed into a median near Paul Brown Stadium.

Denny and Hatfield were both taken into custody.

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