Crips gang member shot and killed 16-year-old Robert Castro
(Woodland, CA) – May 18, 2022 – On May 16, 2022, at the request of Governor Gavin Newsom, all members of the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) decided that further review was warranted for the parole grant of 43-year-old convicted murderer Daniel Robinson.
In 1996 a Yolo County jury found Robinson guilty of second-degree murder for killing 16-year-old 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.
Robinson had been denied parole at two previous lifer hearings which occurred in 2014 and 2019. On December 15, 2021, a two-member BPH panel granted Robinson a tentative parole date. Upon a grant of parole, the Governor has 60 days to review the Board of Parole Hearing panel’s decision. In this case, Governor Gavin Newsom referred the decision to the full Board of Parole Hearings to decide whether the two-member panel’s decision to grant parole was improper and did not serve the interests of justice, based on the concerns included in the Governor’s referral dated March 25, 2022. The Board of Parole Hearings was also asked to consider information of institutional misconduct, dated March 22, 2022, and 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 BPH panel made the appropriate decision at the December 15th hearing.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven attended the May 17th hearing on behalf of the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. Robert Castro’s mother, father, and sister also attended the hearing. Raven told commissioners that the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office agreed with the concerns expressed by the Governor and that Robinson’s very recent rules violations, which occurred after the two-member panel tentatively granted him parole, raised significant issues regarding how the release of Robinson could present a threat to the public.
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,” 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, Robinson’s very recent violations in prison made the Governor and Board of Parole Hearings uncomfortable with releasing him back into the community.”
Robinson’s “recission” hearing, to determine whether he will be released into the community, will be scheduled for a date in the near future.
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