On the Beat in the Bluegrass

Christopher Tolliver was on his knees suffering from a bullet wound to his abdomen when his ex-boyfriend fired a fatal gunshot to the back of his head, a detective testified Monday.

Witnesses at the Lexington Green parking lot on March 5 told police that the shooter laughed as he stood over Tolliver, Detective Todd Iddings said.

Iddings testified Monday during a preliminary hearing for Toby Lasure in Fayette District Court. Lasure, 31, is charged with murder, wanton endangerment, fleeing police and leaving the scene of an accident.

District Judge Joseph Bouvier found probable cause to send Lasure’s case to a grand jury for possible indictment.

Lasure spoke with police after the shooting and confessed several times. Lasure said Tollier told him “hurtful things” at Lexington Green, according to Iddings.

Friends and relatives of Tolliver have said he had broken up with Lasure, whom he met last year around Thanksgiving.

Iddings said Lasure called Tolliver earlier that day, asking him to work out with him at Fitness 19 on Boston Road. Lasure found Tolliver at the nearby Kroger, and Tolliver told him he wanted to talk at Lexington Green, Iddings said.

Police have said several people witnessed the shooting.

Iddings said two witnesses identified Lasure — through a photo lineup — as the shooter at Lexington Green.

Another police officer described the chase that led to a three-hour standoff at the Ridge Behavioral Health System. The Ridge is a psychiatric and chemical dependency treatment center at 3050 Rio Dosa Drive, near Man o’ War Boulevard.

Sgt. Pat McBride said Lasure whizzed in and out of “extremely heavy traffic.” He got up to 90 miles an hour on New Circle Road.

At the Ridge parking lot, Lasure held a gun to his head inside his car. Negotiators eventually persuaded him to surrender.

“Our only hope was to calm him down,” McBride said.

Here’s a release from the KSP:

FRANKFORT -  Preliminary statistics indicate that 13 people died in separate crashes on Kentucky roadways last week.

Nine of the crashes, which occurred between March 9 through March 15, involved motor vehicles and six of those victims were not wearing seat belts. Single-fatality crashes occurred in Allen, Harlan, Hart, Knott, Laurel, Letcher, Scott and Todd counties.

Three fatal motorcycle crashes occurred in Jefferson, Trimble and Wolfe counties.  One crash involved the suspected use of alcohol.  Two of the three victims were wearing helmets.

One pedestrian fatality occurred in Montgomery county.

Through March 15, preliminary statistics* indicate that 126  people have lost their lives on Kentucky roadways during 2009.  This is sixteen fewer than reported for the same time period in 2008.   Of the 112 motor vehicle fatalities, 68 victims were not wearing seat belts.  Eight pedestrians have been killed.  Five fatalities involved a motorcycle and one fatality involved an ATV.  A total of twenty-eight fatalities have resulted from crashes involving the suspected use of alcohol.

Citizens can contribute to highway safety by reporting erratic drivers to the Kentucky State Police toll-free at 1-800-222-5555. Callers will remain anonymous and should give a description of the vehicle, location, direction of travel and license number if possible.

By Brandon Ortiz - bortiz@herald-leader.com

Brandon C. Robinson

A Fayette County jury found a Lexington man guilty of murder for gunning down a repo man who was taking his car.

An eight-woman, four-man jury recommended a 40-year-sentence for Brandon C. Robinson, who fired 12 bullets at David S. Smith, 45, while he was repossessing Robinson’s white Oldsmobile Cutlass on June 28, 2007, on Laredo Drive.

Jurors urged an additional five years for tampering with evidence, for a total recommendation of 45 years in prison.

Circuit Judge Thomas Clark will consider the recommendation at an April 10 sentencing hearing.

Smith’s oldest son, Erik S. Smith, said he was satisfied with the recommendation. He noted that the sentence was equal to his father’s age when he was killed.

Defense lawyers had asked jurors to convict Robinson, 22, of a lesser offense, first-degree manslaughter. They said Robinson was acting under extreme emotional disturbance.

Robinson had problems with the car from day one, attorney Tucker Richardson said. Earlier in the day he had gotten into a heated telephone argument with Chris Mackey, of Cars R Us. Robinson threatened to stop making payments.

Even though Robinson was up to date on his payments, Richardson said, Mackey decided to repossess the car.

“I am not saying let him go. Brandon is guilty of manslaughter in the first degree,” Richardson told jurors. “If you do that, I think you will see that justice will be done.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Kimberly Henderson Baird, in a closing argument that lasted nearly an hour, noted that Robinson originally told police that he grabbed a gun by his couch, loaded it and went after Smith. Baird said that’s evidence that he intended to kill Smith.

Defense attorneys say Robinson happened to be putting his gun away in his bedroom when his girlfriend’s mother told him the car was being stolen.

Baird said defense attorneys were trying to distract jurors by focusing on the business practices of the car dealer. She urged jurors to convict Robinson of intentional murder.

“There is no reasonable excuse for what he did,” Baird said.

During the sentencing phase, Erik Smith testified that his father was a kind-hearted and gregarious fellow. His death has been tough on the family.

“His phone number is still in my phone because I can’t bring myself to delete it,” Smith said.