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Charges dropped against teen in deadly 2023 shooting
More than three years after 14-year-old Trevon Robinson was killed in a shooting outside Dezerland Park, prosecutors have dropped all charges against the teenager who had been accused in the case, saying they do not have enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
ORLANDO, Fla. - More than three years after 14-year-old Trevon Robinson was killed in a shooting outside Dezerland Park, prosecutors have dropped all charges against the teenager accused in the case.
They say they do not have enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
What they're saying:
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell said investigators had enough evidence to establish probable cause for an arrest but not enough to prove the case at trial.
"In order for us to take that case to trial, we have to have witnesses, or we have to have video, or if we have video, we have to have a witness to identify who the person is in the video," Worrell said. "In this case we did not have that evidence so we weren't able to go forward."
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Worrell said the prosecution was further complicated because many of the witnesses were children.
"When you have witnesses who are children, it is sometimes very difficult to get them to testify," Worrell said. "In this case, witnesses who had given previous statements then recanted those statements."
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Wilson said the dismissal only adds to her family's pain.
"For you to just say that he gets all charges dropped and walks free is crazy," she said.
The other side:
The shooting happened in 2023 after investigators said a group of teenagers was leaving the Dezerland Park property when someone opened fire into the crowd. Robinson was killed, and two other 14-year-old boys were wounded.
"I don't feel like justice has been served," Robinson's mother, Arielle Wilson, said after learning of the decision.
Wilson said the impact of the shooting continues to affect all three families.
"Mine is like irreplaceable damage," she said. "The other mom, her son, is still paralyzed to this day, which is life-changing for him. The third one, you have this emotional damage from witnessing your friend get shot beside you and losing them, and you got shot yourself."
What's next:
The State Attorney's Office said the case could be reopened if new evidence emerges.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell and Trevon Robinson's mother, Arielle Wilson.