Man who shot DEA agent to be sentenced

Federal Judge Michelle Childs is expected to sentence to prison Monday an Orangeburg man who shot and wounded a DEA agent in a surprise raid aimed at finding drugs at the man’s house.

No drugs were found.

In a case closely watched by law enforcement, Joel Robinson likely will get eight years in prison in accordance with a plea agreement worked out between prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Robinson, 33, could have gotten 30 years to life if a jury had found him guilty in the shooting of DEA agent Barry Wilson during the early morning federal raid and various other charges against him.

But federal prosecutors agreed to drop most charges against Robinson, including manufacturing and distributing illegal drugs, if he would plead guilty to shooting Wilson. The formal charge to which Robinson pleaded guilty to is assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon while the officer is in the performance of his duties.

Robinson had contended he woke up and didn’t know the people outside his Orangeburg area house Oct. 20 were federal agents. Officers were acting on information from tipsters about possible drugs in the home.

Believing he was under attack from home invaders, Robinson jumped up naked from his bed, grabbed a Taurus .45 caliber handgun and ran outside shooting, his attorneys have said in court documents.

Federal laws on shooting DEA or other agents performing legal duties are quite strict – in most cases, it is against the law if the person who shoots a DEA agent isn’t aware he is shooting an agent.

According to information in court documents, the plea deal was a compromise by prosecution and defense.

In pretrial documents, defense attorneys contended the drug charges against Robinson were deeply flawed. Not only does Robinson not have a criminal record, the DEA raid team failed to turn up any solid evidence linking Robinson to drugs or drug money, according to court documents.

During the raid, one set of agents banged on his door and another broke a side window. On being awakened, Robinson fired four shots at a wall by the broken window and then ran out a rear door, firing two times, according to evidence in the case.

It was a bullet from Robinson’s last two shots that struck DEA agent Wilson, who was in the back yard and who was wearing a DEA helmet and a bulletproof vest clearly marked “Police.” At that point, other agents yelled “Police!” and Robinson dropped his gun.

Had there been a trial, Robinson would have claimed in the few seconds after he woke, he believed he was the target of home invaders and only fired in self-defense. The government would have claimed he should have known it was a DEA raid because agents surrounding the house were yelling “Police!” and a car was in the front yard with a flashing blue light, according to legal documents.

Wilson, one of more than a dozen law officers surrounding the house, was hit in the right elbow and forearm. He is expected to be in court Monday and may make a statement.

Robinson’s defense attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, have said their client “absolutely regrets shooting the officer.” The attorneys also praised the restraint shown by officers on the scene, who held their fire after Robinson had shot their colleague.

Had the case gone to trial, the judge was going to allow Robinson to testify that he fired at the agent in self-defense.

This story was originally published July 5, 2015 at 8:59 PM with the headline "Man who shot DEA agent to be sentenced."