Judge Jennifer Anderson found probable cause Friday in the case against James Cornelius Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting 30-year-old Jason Alexander Murphy in August 2013.
Murphy was found shot in the 1300 block of Savannah Street, Southeast early in the morning on August 31.
Charging documents in the case say a witness told police that they had heard about 26 gunshots the night Murphy was killed and saw three black men standing around where Murphy’s body was later found. The witness later identified Robinson’s photo as “Jim Bob,” along with Marquette Gaskins’s photo and Dalonte Harrison’s photo. Court records do not show that Gaskins or Harrison face charges related to Murphy’s death.
A second witness with pending criminal matters in other jurisdictions spoke with DC police and said Robinson told him about shooting Murphy “at least seventeen times,” according to arrest documents.
Metropolitan Police Detective Marvin Washington testified Friday that Murphy was found with a cell phone, $1000 cash in his pants pocket and a gun in his waistband. Washington said that Murphy did not appear to have been robbed before he was killed.
David Maxted, Robinson’s defense attorney, said there was no physical evidence to connect Robinson to the murder. He said that the time between the sound of gunshots and the first witnesses’ observations gave time for the “actual shooters” to escape.
The case is scheduled for a felony status conference at 9:30 a.m. on March 19.
