In the late summer of 2018, the life of Preston Lemar Robinson, a 30-year-old Black/African American male, was tragically cut short in Birmingham, Alabama. On the evening of Wednesday, September 5, 2018, officers from the West Precinct were dispatched to the 1300 block of 34th Street North in the Norwood community to investigate a report of a person shot. Upon their arrival just after 10 p.m., they found Robinson unresponsive in the driver's seat of a parked sedan.
He had sustained a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene by Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service personnel.
The initial investigation into Robinson's death quickly shifted from a death investigation to a homicide investigation. Detectives learned that Robinson had been involved in an argument with another male, which escalated to the point of gunfire. This altercation, it was later revealed, stemmed from a drug transaction. Witnesses reported seeing a person of interest flee the scene on foot following the shooting. The investigation progressed, and authorities were able to identify a suspect in the fatal shooting.
Within days of the incident, the Birmingham Police Department announced a significant development in the case. A 19-year-old suspect, Anthony Dewayne Williams Jr., was taken into custody and subsequently charged with capital murder in connection with Preston Lemar Robinson's death. The capital murder charge was brought because the homicide occurred during the commission of a robbery. Williams was held in the Jefferson County Jail without bond.
In the ensuing legal proceedings, Anthony Dewayne Williams Jr. faced the consequences of his actions. In a turn of events that brought a form of closure to the case, Williams ultimately pleaded guilty to the murder of Preston Lemar Robinson. Following his guilty plea, he was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison.
