Robinson found guilty of murder

Bill Gang

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1998 | 10:55 a.m.

A 21-year-old man from Compton, Calif., who is facing four separate murder charges was both a winner and loser at his first murder trial.

Bryan Keith Robinson was charged in the Sept. 21, 1996, shooting death of Tracey Kennedy at a North Las Vegas condominium complex.

Robinson's loss came Tuesday when he was convicted of first-degree murder and other charges by a jury that deliberated more than five hours.

The win came moments later when, for the moment, he escaped the possibility of a death sentence.

District Judge Lee Gates tossed out the single "aggravating circumstance" alleged by prosecutors to justify their attempt to seek the death penalty. He declared it was not supported by the facts of the case.

Deputy District Attorney Dan Seaton said he will appeal the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court and will seek a postponement of Monday's scheduled penalty hearing until a high court decision is handed down.

If the justices agree with defense attorneys Scott Bindrup and Pete Christiansen, the defendant would automatically get a life prison sentence and the question for the jury would be only whether that sentence is with or without the possibility of parole.

If the justices agree with Seaton and Deputy District Attorney David Roger, the possibility of a death sentence would still loom over Robinson's head, although he was not named as the actual shooter in Kennedy's death.

At issue is whether Kennedy's shooting death risked harm to more than one person.

Gates said he believes that special circumstance should apply to people who shoot into a crowd or set off a bomb.

Kennedy had been a witness to an earlier murder allegedly committed by a friend of Robinson's and was supposed to have testified at a preliminary hearing in North Las Vegas Justice Court. But Kennedy was gunned down two days before his scheduled court appearance.

Robinson, 21, had moved to North Las Vegas shortly before the four unrelated murders occurred over a three-month period in the Cheyenne Condominium complex near Cheyenne Avenue.

Robinson is set to return to Gates' courtroom on Nov. 30 for his trial on the second murder count for the Nov. 14, 1996, shooting death of 17-year-old Germaine McKines.