WICHITA FALLS ( KFDX/KJTL ) — The Sixth Court of Appeals has affirmed the capital murder conviction of a man sentenced to life without parole for the fatal shooting of a Stripes clerk in 2022.

On Monday, March 4, 2024, a Wichita County jury found Tajmon Laterrannce Robinson, 24, of Wichita Falls, guilty of capital murder for fatally shooting Floyd Kirt, 51, during a robbery of a Stripes convenience store in February 2022.

The prosecution declined to seek the death penalty for Robinson, so he was automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole. He is currently being housed at the Ferguson Unit in Midway.

Robinson appealed the conviction, alleging the 30th District Court, where he was tried and convicted, committed multiple errors during his trial by admitting a video clip of his recorded confession and a phone call from jail between Robinson and his mom into evidence.

In the appellate court’s memorandum opinion issued on October 7, 2024, the Sixth Court of Appeals in Texarkana found that the trial court committed no errors by allowing the video and phone call into evidence and affirmed the trial court’s judgment.

Video clip from Robinson’s confession

During Robinson’s trial, a video clip was played that showed Robinson punching a chair and knocking it over, then punching a wall or inanimate object after confessing to police that he’d shot Kirt.

According to the appeal court’s opinion, Robinson objected to a portion of his recorded confession being admitted into evidence during the trial and outside of the jury’s presence, and the objection was overruled by Judge Jeff McKnight.

Robinson’s appeal alleged that the footage from the interview was substantially more prejudicial than probative, meaning he believed it created more unfair prejudice against him than it did any actual evidentiary value, according to Rule 403 .

The memorandum opinion said the clip was “particularly probative in light of Robinson’s defensive theory, which was that he gave a false confession.”

“While Robinson argues that the clip tended to suggest a verdict of guilt based on violent character, the trial court could find it highly unlikely that the jury would find Robinson’s outburst toward inanimate objects amounted to a propensity of violence toward people,” the opinion said.

The appellate court ultimately found that the probative value of the video clip was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice as spelled out by Rule 403 and overruled Robinson’s point of error.

Robinson’s phone call to mother from jail

In Robinson’s appellate brief, he also argued that the trial court committed an error when it allowed an audio recording of his jailhouse call to his mother to be admitted into evidence and played for the jury. Robinson argued that the jail call was not properly authenticated.

According to the appeal court’s memorandum opinion, the prosecution called an investigator with the Wichita County District Attorney’s Office to authenticate the phone call prior to its admittance into evidence. The opinion said the trial court overruled Robinson’s objection during his trial.

The memorandum opinion said the trial court did not abuse its discretion by determining the testimony of the investigator was sufficient, adding that there was no evidence that the jailhouse call had been tampered with.

“Even though we conclude that the trial court did not err by admitting the jailhouse call, we further note that Robinson cannot establish harm from its admission,” the opinion said.

The appellate justices, in their opinion, said that since other evidence was admitted without objection that showed the same facts as the jailhouse call.

According to the opinion, the investigator also testified regarding the substance of the jail call, that Robinson admitted he could not sleep after the fatal shooting and that after Robinson’s mom said he’d killed an innocent man, Robinson responded by saying, “I know, Mama. I know.” Since that bit of testimony was admitted with no objection, then no harm can be proven.

What’s next in the appeal process?

Robinson’s conviction and sentence have now been affirmed by the Sixth Court of Appeals.

If Robinson chooses, he can now request a discretionary review from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest appellate court.

This is a developing story. Stick with Texoma’s Homepage for updates as more information becomes available.

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