Trial for Columbia man charged with murder at a Waffle House underway
COLUMBIA, Mo (KMIZ)
On Wednesday, trial started for 52-year-old Leo Robinson Jr. for his alleged involvement in a 2021 murder outside of Waffle House on Vandiver Drive.
Robinson is charged with second-degree murder and armed-criminal action. The trial will continue at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
According to court documents, in March 2021, Robinson was in an argument with the victim, Reginald Ball in the parking lot of the restaurant. He then got out of his vehicle and approached Ball.
Robinson then returned to his vehicle and Ball approached him. According to police, Robinson fired off three shots, hitting Ball and then drove away. Ball was pronounced dead that the scene shortly after officers arrived.
After being taken into custody, Robinson said he shot Ball in self-defense.
During the opening statements, the prosecution argued that Robinson was seen on camera shooting Ball and driving away. They also argued that he should not have had a gun in the first place because he is a convicted felon. It is illegal to own a gun as a felon.
The defense admitted that Robinson shot Ball, but stressed the reason as to why in their opening statement.
According to the defense, Robinson met Ball online. The two had a shared interest in motorcycles and text messages allegedly showed hey agreed to meet at a Waffle House. Robinson parked his car in a well-lit spot and then roughly 30 seconds later Ball’s car pulled up next to him. Another man was in the backseat and a woman who previously knew Robinson.
The defense argues that they were waiting across the street for Robinson, which is why they arrived so quickly. Once the car pulled up video from the courtroom showed Robinson approaching the car and then back up slowly towards his car with his hands up.
The defense argued that when Ball began walking towards Robinson’s car he shot him in self-defense.
Two police officers who investigated the scene that night took the stand and went over Waffle House security footage. One officer said that there was so much blood that they initially couldn’t locate where the wound was.
The woman took the stand later in the afternoon. She claimed the three people in the car had been drinking heavily and smoked marijuana earlier in the day.
This story is developing.
