Wisconsin Shooting Victim, 19, Was Convicted Last Year For Role In Armed Home Invasion Share

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The unarmed Wisconsin teenager who was shot to death last night during a confrontation with a Madison cop pleaded guilty last year to armed robbery and recently began serving a three-year probation term for that felony conviction, court records show.

According to police, an officer responded Friday to a 911 call about a man who had assaulted a victim and was dodging cars in traffic. The cop followed the suspect into a nearby apartment, where the man allegedly struck the officer in the head, knocking him to the ground. During an ensuing struggle, patrolman Matt Kenny fatally shot the suspect.

Family and friends have identified the victim as Anthony “Tony” Robinson, a 19-year-old Madison resident. “The initial finding at the scene did not reflect a gun or anything of that nature that would have been used by the subject," said Madison Police Chief Mike Koval.

Robinson’s mother, Andrea Irwin, said that, “My son has never been a violent person. And to die in such a violent, violent way, it baffles me.”

Robinson, pictured above, was arrested last April following an armed home invasion at a Madison residence, according to police records. Cops were called to the scene around 6 AM by a neighbor who “spotted several men, one of them armed with a long gun, entering an apartment building,” according to a police report.

Police arrived at the home “just as the armed robbery was ending” and a group of suspects was fleeing “with electronics and other property.” Cops subsequently recovered a shotgun and a facsimile handgun used during the robbery, as well as some of the stolen property.

Robinson was one of five suspects (each of whom was 18 at the time of their arrest) busted for the home invasion. In October, he pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was later sentenced to six months in jail, though a judge stayed the exection of the custodial term. Robinson was also placed on three years probation, which he began serving in late-December.

Two of Robinson’s codefendants have also pleaded to armed robbery, while the felony cases against the remaining two defendants are pending.

Robinson was also the defendant in a paternity action filed last year by a 24-year-old Madison woman. The civil matter ended with a paternity judgment being served on Robinson with regard to the child, a boy who just turned one. A judge ruled that, “parties will have joint legal custody; no placement order and no child support order entered as neither party appeared to provide info.”

On his Twitter account, Robinson yesterday included a link to a story about the scathing Department of Justice probe into the Ferguson, Missouri police department. On Thursday, he tweeted, “I need a bae to take care of me when I'm off the drugs.” In other tweets, the teen--whose handle included the name “Tony Montana”--frequently referred to marijuana and described himself as a “Real nigga from the start till the casket shut.” Last June, Robinson made reference to the ankle monitor he was outfitted with after being released on bond in the armed robbery case. “Big bro wants me to come to new york and live with him after my bracelet comes off, hey why not,” he wrote.

In posts this year to his Facebook page, Robinson appeared troubled, writing, “I hate my mind” and “I don’t need help im not crazy.” In a January 19 post, he declared, “My soul is dying.” In a series of messages on February 11, Robinson wrote, “You arent shit to your family when you grow up,” and “Iv been getting lied to my whole life… Mostly by famliy members.” In December, a day after linking to a video showing a police officer applying a chokehold to a man, Robinson wrote, “The only thing cops are getting trained for is to shoot first and ask questions later.”