Crips gang member shot and killed 16-year-old Robert Castro
(Woodland, CA) – September 16, 2022 – On September 16, 2022, a three-member panel of the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) unanimously agreed that the previous grant of parole for 46-year-old Daniel Robinson was improper and not supported by the evidence. On December 15, 2021, a two-member panel found Mr. Robinson suitable for parole. Subsequently, Governor Gavin Newsom reviewed the decision and raised concerns about whether Mr. Robinson continued to be a public safety risk, if released. Specifically, the Governor asked the full Board of Parole Hearings to consider information of institutional misconduct, dated March 22, 2022, and additional “confidential information” dated April 19, 2022. Based on the request of the Governor, and the new information, BPH set a “recission” hearing to determine whether the two-member panel made the appropriate decision at the December 15th hearing. At a meeting on May 16, 2022, the full Board decided that the December 2021 decision needed further review and scheduled a “recission hearing” to decide whether the panel’s decision was “improvident” or improper.
In 1996, a Yolo County jury found Robinson guilty of second-degree murder for killing 16-yearold Robert Castro in a gang related drive by shooting. At the time of the shooting, Castro was riding his bike in West Sacramento. Robinson and his friends were associated with the 29th Street Crips. Because they felt disrespected by the Broderick Boys, a West Sacramento gang, they decided to get revenge by shooting Castro, even though they had never seen him, didn’t know him, and had no reason to believe he was in a gang. After the jury convicted him of second-degree murder, Robinson was sentenced to 18 years-to-life in state prison.
This recission hearing was conducted by video conference on September 16, 2022, before BPH Commissioners Catherine Purcell, Joe Sullivan, and Nancy Wong. During the hearing, Commissioner Purcell presented information concerning the fact the Mr. Robinson illegally possessed a Motorola phone in his cell on March 22, 2022. She also presented evidence that Mr. Robinson, with the assistance of his wife, committed EDD fraud and communicated with his wife through texts about this fraud as far back as August 2020. Commissioner Purcell stated that Mr. Robinson “received significant fraudulent money” which his wife deposited into his inmate bank account.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven attended the recission hearing on behalf of the District Attorney’s Office. Robert Castro’s mother, father, sister, and cousins also attended the hearing. After deliberating, the panel unanimously agreed that the last panel’s December 2021 decision to grant Mr. Robinson parole was improvident. Commissioner Purcell stated, “We find that there’s good cause to rescind your parole grant. First, we have found true the 2020 cell phone violation, that you possessed the phone at the time of the grant hearing and actually well before that. The phone texts show that you engaged in EDD fraud as well.” Commissioner Purcell continued, “We find that you engaged in criminal thinking because of these things. First you were not truthful under oath at your parole hearing and when you did so, you were untruthful in order to secure a grant of parole. We have found that the last panel’s grant of parole was improvident because some of the panel’s conclusions could not be reconciled with the evidence….”
Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig expressed his satisfaction of the Board of Parole Hearing’s decision. “Board members took the concerns expressed by Governor Newsom to heart, reviewed the evidence, and took note of Mr. Robinson’s dishonesty and sophisticated criminal conduct,” said Reisig. “This was a senseless and horrific gang shooting of 16-year-old boy who was targeted simply because Robinson and his fellow gang members felt disrespected by the Broderick Boys. Clearly, Mr. Robinson’s very recent violations in prison and the EDD fraud are indicative that he still remains a danger to the public.”
The current hearing was to only determine whether the December 2021 panel’s decision was improper. Mr. Robinson will be entitled to another hearing to determining his suitability for parole within 120 days.
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