A Wasilla teenager has pleaded guilty to the death of his father in February 2013, Alaska State Troopers say.
On Feb. 26, 2013, troopers were notified that then-16-year-old William Robinson, Jr. had shot and killed his father, William Robinson, at their Wasilla home. Both troopers and the Palmer branch of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation’s Major Crimes Unit responded to the scene.
According to court documents, the younger Robinson woke up to the sound of his parents arguing in the middle of the night. Nicole Robinson, the victim’s wife, reported that they both threatened to shoot the other after her husband began accusing her of stealing his prescription medication.
The teenaged Robinson grabbed a pistol, but did not immediately fire it. Court documents say that he fired only when his father began to yell at him, emptying the gun of all six bullets.
The elder Robinson was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said.
Later that day, Robinson, now 18, was arrested and charged as an adult for first- and second-degree murder, troopers say.
Monday, Robinson pleaded guilty to one count of criminally negligent homicide, according to troopers. Palmer Assistant District Attorney Eric Senta, the prosecutor in the case, says the lesser charge was based on Robinson’s lack of criminal history and “evidence of domestic violence in the household before the shooting.”
“Factors which influenced the charge bargain in this tragic case included defendant’s age and lack of criminal history, suppression of the defendant’s confession by Judge [Kari] Kristiansen and evidence of domestic violence in the household before the shooting,” Senta said in an email. “Robinson will be sentenced as an adult in Palmer Superior Court, but there is no agreement as to what the actual sentence will be. Criminally Negligent Homicide is a Class B felony in Alaska, which carries a minimum sentence of one year and a maximum sentence of 10 years.”
His sentencing is scheduled for November.