The incident, which occurred at about 1:45 a.m. Aug. 8, left Robinson and Davis with multiple gunshot wounds fired by resident Gregory K. Gabbard in self-defense, according to investigators. Davis, of Middletown, was pronounced dead at University Hospital in Cincinnati.
Robinson was released from the same hospital days later, but is still recovering while housed in the Butler County Jail. During Tuesday’s hearing, Robinson was escorted into the courtroom in a wheelchair.
Robinson faces a murder charge, even without firing a shot, because Ohio law says, if a death occurs as the result of an offender committing or attempting to commit a violent felony criminal offense, the person can be charged with murder.
Defense attorney Damon Halverson argued the search warrant used to view calls to and from a cell phone believed to belong to Robinson was a “free pass for a fishing expedition” because it did not specify a time frame or specifics about names of people they were seeking.
“That allows an officer to go into a cell phone and look for whatever they want,” Halverson said, noting that such an open search could lead to unrelated charges depending on what was found.
Detective Jason Rosser testified that hours after the shooting he talked to Gabbard, who said he received a call about 9 or 10 p.m. from his “possible drug dealer,” and that 90 minutes later he received a second call, possibly from the suspects.
A call to “plumber” was placed from the blue Nokia cell phone recovered from the shooting scene near were Robinson was sitting, said Rosser, who added Gabbard is a plumber by trade.
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