May 31, 2001
Robinson to spend the rest of his life in prison
By Ryan Good
Staff Writer
FREMONT -- A Sandusky man is to spend the rest of his life in prison for the
murder of two carryout workers and the attempted murder of a bartender last spring.
John Michael Robinson, 23, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted aggravated murder before a three-judge panel consisting of Sandusky County Common Pleas Court judges Harry A. Sargeant Jr. and Margaret K. Weaver and Ottawa County Common Pleas Court Judge Paul C. Moon.
The two murder charges stem from the shooting deaths of Crystal Pierson, 20, Oak Harbor, at the Two Z's Carryout April 21, 2000 and Denise Clink, 42,
Clyde, at Gene's Drive-Thru in Sandusky County April 23. Robinson was sentenced to two life terms in prison with out parole on each count.
The attempted aggravated murder charge stems from the shooting of Robert Hovis, 49, Fremont, April 23 at The Gables Bar in Fremont.
Hovis was shot in the hand and the cheek by Robinson during the robbery
but managed to survive because he played dead.
Robinson received a 10-year sentence for the attempted aggravated murder charge and another nine years in prison because each of the three counts carry the specification that the crimes were committed with a firearm.
"I regret what happened. I can't imagine what it's like to lose a loved
one. I realize what I've done ... I'm truly sorry," Robinson said in tears as
he read a statement to the court before he was sentenced.
Robinson was found in Houston, Texas, when Dawn Dennis, who was traveling with Robinson, bounced a $135 check for shoes at a mall, Agent Charles Holloway of the Sandusky FBI bureau testified.
Surveillance was set up at the Houston motel where Robinson was staying, and after talking with him and his mother in the three-way call on the
telephone, Robinson surrendered to authorities and turned over the
murder weapon, Holloway said.
"Crystal was a very loving person. Now each and every day we remember our memories of her. A day will come when God will judge you, John Robinson," Pierson's sister Tracy Tracy said in court.
"If I cry, I'm human, that is something John Robinson will never be. My
mother will never see my graduation. She will never see the joy of her
grandchildren," said Clink's daughter Rachel Clink.
Robinson, through his attorneys, entered the plea at about 9:45 a.m., but testimony from witnesses and evidence still had to be reviewed by the court because two of the charges are capitol crimes.
After hearing testimony from various law enforcement officials, the
prosecution, led by Sandusky County Prosecutor Tom Stierwalt and Ottawa
County Prosecutor Mark Mulligan, rested their case at 1:30 p.m.
DNA taken from a cigarette at The Gables bar matched Robinson's DNA, said Capt. Jim Consolo, a Sandusky County Sheriff's Office detective.
"The standard came from John Robinson," said Agent Diane Larson of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation about the cigarette examine at the BCI&I laboratory in London, Ohio.
After almost an hour of deliberation by the judges, the defense presented
Crystal Dillender, Robinson's mother, and Mary Mitchell, mother of
Robinson's two children, to the court before they rested their case.
"I don't know how Tiffany (Robinson's daughter) would handle it if she
couldn't see her dad," Mitchell said.
After the victims read their statements to the court, the judges again
deliberated for about an hour and a half before announcing their verdict.