The family of Michael Robinson embraced each other in tears Thursday afternoon following the conviction of the man accused of his killing back in August.
A jury found John Paul Jones guilty of all six counts against him in a trial that lasted three days in Polk Superior Court, including malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
“I think that justice was done in this case,” said Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jack Browning. “This was just a bad case all around. There’s just no winners in a case like this.”
John Paul Jones was convicted of what Browning called the “malicious ambush killing” of Michael Robinson on August 6 when he came to Jones’ home to have a discussion on a Facebook post that Jones had made on his personal page. He was also convicted of pointing the gun at Robinson’s wife, who was there with Robinson when the shooting took place.
Browning says the swift movement of the case from arrest to indictment and to trial was a testament to the excellent investigative work from his office and from law enforcement.
“They are the ones who deserve the credit for putting together such a solid, good case for us to take to trial, ” said Browning. “We’re indebted to them for the great work they did on the case.”
An indictment of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony was in regards to the pointing of the alleged murder weapon at Heather Robinson, the wife of the murder victim.
Sentencing in this case is set for Monday, January 6 at 9 a.m. in Judge Michael Murphy’s courtroom.