High School Coach Who Shot, Killed Teen Robber Won't Face Charges

DETROIT (WWJ) - A 70-year-old assistant basketball coach who killed one teenager and wounded another as they attempted to rob him at gunpoint outside of a Detroit high school will not face charges in the case.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said Ernest Robinson was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed 16-year-old Michael Scott earlier this month.

Robinson was leaving Martin Luther King Jr. High School, located at 3200 East Lafayette, around 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1 with two female basketball players when he was accosted by two teenage males in the parking lot.

As Robinson approached the driver's side of his car, Scott and another 15-year-old male, both of Detroit, approached Robinson and ordered him not to move.

It's alleged that the 15-year-old tugged at a chain Robinson was wearing. At the same time, Scott reportedly pointed a gun toward the two females, who were on the passenger side of the coach's car, and instructed them to leave the area. The girls ran toward Lafayette and were unharmed.

While he was being robbed at gunpoint, Robinson pulled out his handgun and fired at the teens. Scott was fatally shot and discovered by the police near the scene of the robbery.

Prosecutors said Robinson, who is also a reserve officer with the Detroit Police Department, has a concealed pistol license and was armed with a registered concealed handgun.

"The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office will not charge the basketball coach with any crime. This case is a textbook example of lawful self-defense. The coach is a victim, so we are charging the 15-year-old accomplice in this case. What is left here is absolutely tragic by any standard," Prosecutor Kim Worthy said in a statement.

The 15-year-old, who is being held at the county's juvenile detention center, is charged with armed robbery and assault with intent to rob while armed. If the teen is convicted, Worthy said the judge would have three options: 1) to sentence the defendant as a juvenile; 2) to have a blended the sentence as juvenile and adult; 3) or to sentence the defendant as an adult. He's due back in court on Feb. 16 for a preliminary hearing.