Crips gang member shot and killed 16-year-old Robert Castro
(Woodland, CA) –November 15, 2019 – On November 14, 2019, a Board of Parole Hearings panel denied parole to 43-year-old convicted murderer Daniel Robinson. The hearing took place at Salinas Valley State Prison in Monterey County. Commissioner Randolf Grounds and Deputy Commissioner Ashley Allred unanimously agreed that Robinson continued to pose a public safety risk and was not ready to be released to the community.
In 1996, a Yolo County jury found Mr. 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 they 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. Prior to this hearing, Robinson met with California Department of Corrections psychologist S. Hoyt on January 22, 2019. Dr. Hoyt prepared a 19-page Comprehensive Risk Assessment in which she concluded “In sum, it appears that, Mr. Robinson has made noteworthy strives in recent years; however, even at his present advanced age of 43 years, he seemingly has yet to fully mature or to appreciate the relevance of his negative personality traits, and how those traits are likely to negatively affect his outcome in the free community.” It wasn’t until this meeting with Dr. Hoyt, 23 years and 18 days after the murder, that Robinson admitted that he was the person who actually shot Robert Castro.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven attended the hearing on behalf of the District Attorney’s Office. Robert Castro’s mother, father, and sister also attended the hearing. In finding Mr. Robinson unsuitable for parole, Commissioner Grounds addressed Robinson. “Your actions resulted in the death of Robert Castro who was only 16 years of age. You were greedy, selfish, and had a gang mentality.” Commissioner Grounds continued stating, “We believe your remorse has grown and you have shown positive conduct over the past few years. But there’s more work to be done.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Raven told commissioners that after 23 years, Mr. Robinson had now finally admitted that he was the killer. “Mr. Robinson has just begun to show insight,” said Raven. “He still had much work to do. Now is not the time to grant Mr. Robinson a parole date.”
This was Robinson’s second parole hearing after spending the past 23 years in state prison. He will be eligible for his next hearing in 2022; however, he can ask the Board of Parole Hearings to advance his hearing if he can show changes that could result in commissioners finding him suitable for parole.
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