DETROIT – A 19-year-old man was in court Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing in the shooting of an off-duty Detroit police officer during an attempted robbery on the city's east side.
Keevon Deewon Robinson, of Detroit, is charged with armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
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The shooting happened June 4 at about 11 p.m. on the corner of Gratiot Avenue and Chene Street, outside the Motor City Liquor store. Police believe the officer was the target of an attempted robbery.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Off-duty Detroit police officer critically injured in shootout
Authorities say Robinson was a participant in the armed robbery. It is also alleged that Robinson took the wounded officer's department issued handgun and cell phone.
Preliminary hearing
A Detroit police sergeant took the stand first to discuss video surveillance evidence.
Sgt. Lance Sullivan talked about the process of retrieving surveillance video and the vantage points of the cameras. The video shows two men walking towards the crime scene and shows the moments after the officer was shot.
The defense asked Sullivan if other officers had handled the video surveillance.
Sgt. Todd Eby was the second person to take the stand at the preliminary hearing. Eby responded to the hospital after the shooting and spoke to family members of the suspect that was killed. Robinson was at the hospital at the time.
Eby spoke with Robinson that night about the incident and his alleged involvement.
Robinson was bound over for trial. He is due in court again June 29.
What happened
According to police, the officer made a purchase at the store and walked into the parking lot. Craig said security cameras captured the shooting, but that the location is not a Green Light program and the quality is low.
"If it was a Green Light location, we probably would have had a plate number, a vehicle description," Craig said.
A suspect is seen running to the officer in the parking lot with his arm extended, holding a weapon. The officer drew his weapon. Both parties fired.
The suspect was shot and killed. The officer was shot twice -- in the torso and foot.
Robinson was arraigned June 7 and bond was set a $1 million.
The 27-year-old officer was rushed to Detroit Receiving Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. He has been on the force for one year.
Craig said the officer told him two things the morning after the shooting: he wants to get out of the hospital and he wants a police motorcycle.
Police originally said third suspect arrived on scene, takes guns
Detroit police originally said a third suspect had arrived on the scene 8 minutes after the shooting and retrieved the officer's weapon and the gunman's weapon.
“His gun was laying adjacent to him,” Craig said. “He removed the gun and then he went over to where the officer was lying, and it appeared that he may have taken his gun as well.”
Police now believe Robinson was the man who returned to the scene.
“The fact that this individual, instead of trying to render aid, they basically approached the downed suspect, and my sense is that there is a relationship with this suspect that was down and this person,” Craig said.
Stay with Local 4 and ClickonDetroit.com as more information becomes available.
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