In the late hours of May 27, 2014, a 26-year-old Black male named Robert 'Robbie, Rome' Lee Dawson Jr. was senselessly killed in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. He had been sitting in an alley behind his father's residence, a place he frequented to connect his phone to a nearby wireless internet signal. It was in this familiar, unassuming location that his life was abruptly and violently cut short.
The man responsible for Dawson's death was Bobby Derrick Gamble, who was 31 years old at the time. In what prosecutors described as a robbery gone wrong, Gamble approached Dawson in the alley and shot him in the chest. The motive for this tragic act was the theft of a mere $15 to $20. Gamble fled the scene, leaving Dawson to succumb to his injuries.
The investigation into the homicide led authorities to identify Bobby Gamble as the primary suspect. Following his arrest, the case proceeded through the legal system. In a significant turn of events in June 2016, just as his trial was set to begin, Gamble entered a guilty plea to a charge of open murder. This unusual plea meant that while he admitted to being the killer, it was left to a judge to determine the degree of his guilt during a bench trial.
During the proceedings, Muskegon County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Hicks heard testimony to decide whether Gamble was guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree felony murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter. Ultimately, the court found him guilty of the most serious charge. Bobby Gamble was convicted of first-degree murder and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, ensuring he would be held accountable for the senseless killing of Robert Dawson Jr.
