By John Shiffman
The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge yesterday imposed a life sentence on a 59-year-old man who exchanged gunfire with police last year after robbing a West Philadelphia store at gunpoint - a crime that briefly netted $357.
Gregory Robinson has spent most of his adult life in prison and has four prior convictions for violent crimes, including third-degree murder and attempted murder.
The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson, which includes an additional seven years, virtually guarantees that Robinson will die in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
A federal jury in Philadelphia convicted Robinson on Oct. 18 for the April 2006 armed robbery of the Wishing Well Market, 4022 Lancaster Ave.
During the robbery, Robinson put his gun to the neck of a store employee, Michael Wishing, and said, “Don’t move.” As Robinson left the store, another store employee flagged down police Lt. George Kappe, who began to hunt for Robinson in his squad car.
A few moments later, Kappe found Robinson a few blocks away, on Union Street. Authorities say the officer stepped out of his car, drew his weapon and ordered Robinson to halt. Police said Robinson raised a revolver and fired two shots at Kappe.
“When the police lieutenant slipped and fell to the ground during the pursuit, Robinson stopped running, turned around, approached the lieutenant, and shot at the lieutenant two more times while standing only feet away,” according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Salvatore L. Astolfi.
Before Robinson fired, the prosecutor said, Robinson stood over the lieutenant and said, “I got you now ... “
Robinson’s shots missed Kappe. Another police officer who arrived a few moments later, Ronald DuBose, shot at Robinson and wounded him twice in the back, stopping him.
Inside Robinson’s jacket, police found $157 cash in a plastic bag, money stolen from the market, with $200 more lying nearby.
“Criminals who attempt to kill police officers are among the most dangerous people in our community, if only for their depraved indifference for authority,” U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meehan said in a statement. “This defendant’s life story is filled with criminal, violent, desperate acts. The life sentence ensures that he cannot claim additional victims.”
Defense lawyer Nina Carpiniello Spizer said that testimony at trial revealed that the government’s version of the shoot-out was “greatly exaggerated,” and that Robinson and Kappe were separated by at least a car length.
Spizer said that Robinson, who did not make a statement before he was sentenced yesterday, planned to appeal his conviction and sentence.
Robinson was convicted of assault in 1970 and was sentenced to three years in state prison. Four years later, he was sentenced to 18 months on a gun charge. In 1979, he was arrested for murder, and ultimately convicted of voluntary murder, a crime for which he was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. He was released in 2000.
At the time of the Wishing Well robbery, he was on state parole but had not been reporting.
Copyright 2007 Philadelphia Inquirer