JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — During a deposition in 2023, after Abdul Robinson Sr. agreed to testify against his son, he identified his son as a killer.

The testimony is key to proving the state’s case against Hakeem Robinson, known as Ksoo, who is accused of the 2020 murder of Charles McCormick.

When Robinson Sr. was asked if he understood that testifying against his son could result in him facing life in prison, he agreed. This would also be true for his other son, who is accused of being an accomplice in this case.

During that deposition, Ksoo’s attorney asked: “What’s worse– a life in prison or a premature death?” 

When failed to understand, the attorney pushed: “Your testimony could result in a life sentence for your boys– and I’d like to know if you consider a life sentence to be worse than death for them. Do you get my question now?” 

Abdul Robinson Sr. responded, “Yeah.” 

“Is what you’re doing to them worse than killing them?” 

“Yeah,” he responded.

Still, Robinson Sr. took the stand Monday and once again, identified his son as the killer.

A video of McCormick being shot to death was captured by a dash camera affixed to a witness’s truck; the only video evidence of the crime. The state and Ksoo’s defense disagree that the shooter shown in the video is him; the defense says he is too large and tall to be the man in the video, while the state says he cannot be ruled out. 

During his deposition, Robinson said his son was shown on the video. How did he know? He summed it up: He knows his kids, and he could just tell. 

When Robinson Sr. was asked the identity of the man in the video while on the stand Monday, he hesitated for a long moment. Then he said, “My son.” 

Robinson Sr. himself has pleaded guilty to accessory in this case. He said on the stand that he helped Ksoo’s co-defendants burn the clothes that they wore during the crime. He has also pleaded guilty to soliciting a murder where the hitman missed his target and killed a bicyclist, David Rothermel, on Emerson Road in Jacksonville. 

Robison Sr. is testifying as part of a plea deal to receive a reduced sentence in both of these cases. He said on the stand that he agreed to cooperate after he was indicted in the Rothermel case, and he already knew his son was the suspect at that time.

Robinson Sr. told the court he is cooperating so he can be released in time to spend time with his younger children, telling stories about his 8-year-old daughter wanting him to attend a dance and his 6-year-old wanting to play football together. He also talked about health concerns that he feels may shorten his life, such as diabetes, failing kidneys and congestive heart failure.

During his deposition, he talked about having 10 children. Though Monday, he said he had 11. He has only actually lived with four of them, he said. Two of them were his boys — Ksoo and his brother Abdul Robinson Jr. — whom he is now testifying against. 

Robinson Sr. has agreed to a sentence of 76 months, of which he’s already served the majority. He could be released within one year.