Man gets 37 1/2 years for killing girl caught in Minneapolis gunfire
A Minneapolis man who earlier admitted to fatally shooting a 9-year-old girl as she played on a trampoline during a friend’s birthday party was sentenced Tuesday to 37 1/2 years in prison.
Trinity Ottoson-Smith was caught in the line of fire in May 2021 as Dpree Shareef Robinson shot a 9 mm handgun from the alley at three people on the back porch.
Authorities said Robinson, 20, had previously threatened a resident of the home who was allegedly part of a rival gang. Prosecutors said search warrants on Robinson’s social media accounts showed that he described himself as an “active shooter” for a local street gang.
Under Minnesota law, he’ll be eligible for supervised release after serving two-thirds, or 25 years, of the sentence in prison. His guilty plea to second-degree intentional murder meant he avoided trial on a premeditated murder count that would have carried a sentence of life without parole.
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Trinity’s father Raishawn Smith spoke at Robinson’s sentencing Tuesday while holding a photo of his daughter gazing at her newborn sister.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about her,” he said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t cry about her. And I pray that one day I will see her again.”
Korrina Smith, Trinity's stepmother, described the girl as outgoing and close to her six siblings.
“She loved to dance, do gymnastics, get her hair done and get dolled up,” Korinna Smith said. “She was fashionable and had a huge heart for anyone she felt safe around. She was raised by a village.”
At a hearing in March, Robinson admitted to killing Trinity. On Tuesday, however, he denied his involvement and said he was under the influence of pain medication when he entered his guilty plea.
Hennepin County Judge Julie Allyn said Robinson made his plea knowingly and she denied his request to withdraw it.
Trinity was one of three children shot in separate incidents over a three-week period in the spring of 2021.
Six-year-old Aniya Allen had been riding in her mother’s car on May 17 when they were suddenly caught in an exchange of gunfire near 36th and Penn avenues North. She later died at a hospital.
Another child, Ladavionne Garrett Jr., was severely wounded after being shot in the head on April 30 as he was riding in a car with his parents. He was 10 years old at the time. He survived but was left with critical injuries.
Police have not made any arrests in either of those shootings.