In the early morning hours of December 17, 1995, a sense of duty propelled 26-year-old Baldwin County Sheriff's Deputy William 'Will' Edward Robinson IV to conduct a traffic stop that would ultimately be his last. A male deputy with two years of service, he had pulled over a red Ford Probe at the Royal Inn Motel on Irwinton Road, suspecting its connection to a recent armed robbery at a local Jet Food Store.
The vehicle was driven by Robert Wayne Holsey, a man who was determined not to return to prison. As Deputy Robinson approached the car, Holsey opened fire, fatally striking the young officer with a gunshot wound to the head.
The ensuing hours were a frantic search for the person responsible for the death of a beloved deputy. Approximately three hours after the shooting, law enforcement located Holsey and the red Ford Probe. He was taken into custody, and the investigation that followed would solidify his role in the tragic event. Evidence, including clothing matching the robber's description and the victim's blood on Holsey's shoes, linked him directly to both the armed robbery and the murder of Deputy Robinson.
The legal proceedings against Robert Wayne Holsey moved through the justice system. In February 1997, a jury found him guilty of malice murder, felony murder, and armed robbery. The gravity of his crimes resulted in a sentence of death. For nearly two decades, Holsey appealed his conviction and sentence through various courts, but his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. On December 9, 2014, nearly 19 years after he took the life of Deputy William E. Robinson IV, Robert Wayne Holsey was executed by lethal injection. Before his execution, Holsey offered an apology to Robinson's family for the profound loss he had caused.
