20-year-old shows no remorse for killing teen riding scooter
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Left inset: Travon Robinson (Franklin County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Broderick “BJ” Harper (GoFundMe). Background: Surveillance footage showing Broderick “BJ” Harper riding a scooter with three others in front of the Ohio Statehouse before he was gunned down by Travon Robinson (WBNS/YouTube).

An Ohio teenager who had connected with peers through social media was tragically shot and killed while riding scooters near the Ohio Statehouse. The shooter, only 16 at the time and currently 20, admitted to involuntary manslaughter and received a sentence exceeding ten years in prison this week.

During the sentencing on Tuesday, Franklin County Judge Julie Lynch addressed Travon Robinson, stating, “You don’t care if you kill, you don’t care if you go to prison,” as reported by local CBS affiliate WBNS.

According to prosecutors and the victim’s mother, Erica Coit, Robinson, identified as a friend of the deceased Broderick “BJ” Harper, allegedly attempted to rob Harper on May 29, 2022, while they were enjoying a scooter ride together.

Coit shared with WBNS in April 2023, following Robinson’s arrest after nearly a year of investigation, “I told him to be careful and that was the last time we text.”

Footage from surveillance cameras revealed four individuals on scooters, including Harper and Robinson, moving past the statehouse and halting to the left of its main steps. The video captured the moment Harper fell backward after Robinson shot him, according to police accounts.

Two people can be seen running away from the scene and a third person riding away on a scooter, WBNS reported. Police identified one as Robinson, who refused to speak or apologize at his sentencing.

“There’s a lack of remorse and there’s a lack of accountability,” Franklin County prosecutor Chris Clark told the court Tuesday. “When you factor in that and then you look at his record … in juvenile court, just constantly in and out on charges ranging from stolen cars to guns to robbery, he is a threat to the community.”

Harper’s father, who attended the sentencing and spoke to WBNS, said Robinson being remorseful “wouldn’t have mattered” — he doesn’t forgive the young man for what happened.

“Nope, not at all,” said Broderick Harper Sr. “The sorry, a tear, anything like that wouldn’t have mattered. We all knew that there was not gonna be no type of remorse at all.”

Lynch scolded Robinson in court for his “demeanor,” telling him “you don’t care” about the outcome of the case and his actions.

“You don’t care what happens,” Lynch repeated. “We’re supposed to say, ‘They’re only children.’ They’re not children. You put a gun in someone’s hand and you are no longer a child. You’re a threat.”

Robinson was initially booked on murder and weapons charges after a mandatory bind over to adult court in April 2023, according to online records. He pleaded guilty in September to involuntary manslaughter with a gun specification and was sentenced to a term of 14 to 19 years in prison Tuesday, with credit given for two years that Robinson already spent behind bars.

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