In the early hours of a Wednesday morning, on June 20, 2018, the life of 28-year-old Anthony Robertson was tragically cut short in a burst of gunfire on Thurston Road in Rochester, New York. Responding to reports of shots fired around 1:15 a.m., Rochester Police discovered a grim scene. Inside a parked car, Robertson and another man, 30-year-old William Gibson, were found, both having been fatally shot.
A third occupant of the vehicle, a woman, was also struck by the gunfire and sustained critical injuries that left her paralyzed from the waist down.
The investigation that followed determined that the occupants of the car were not the intended targets of the shooter. In a case of what appears to be a senseless act of violence, the victims were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The intersection of Thurston Road and Brooks Avenue was closed for nearly ten hours as investigators meticulously worked the scene, collecting evidence and speaking to potential witnesses.
The break in the case came with the arrest of 29-year-old Samuel Shaw. He was subsequently charged with a litany of crimes, including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon. During the nearly three-week trial, the prosecution built a compelling case against Shaw. Eyewitnesses identified him as the individual who fired 13 rounds into the vehicle. Further solidifying the case, Shaw's fingerprints were found on the box containing the gun used in the double homicide.
Despite his defense team's efforts to challenge the evidence and witness testimony, Samuel Shaw was found guilty on all charges. He was handed a sentence that ensures he will never again be a free man: two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, in addition to 80 years for the other charges. The conviction brought a measure of justice for the families of Anthony Robertson and William Gibson, but it could not undo the profound loss they suffered on that tragic June morning.
