Close to midnight on October 17, 2022, Robertson drove into the drive-thru of the Burger King just south of East Alameda Parkway and South Buckley Road, about a mile east of the Aurora Mall. After ordering, he tried to buy his meal with drugs, according to an affidavit by Aurora Police.
When the employee turned down the offer, Robertson pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and threatened him before driving to a 7-Eleven across the street.
Inside the 7-Eleven, witnesses say that "there was something off" about Robertson, who was "talking about God" and holding a purple Bible, according to the affidavit. Robertson then took out a gun and pointed it at the store clerk's head. Robertson noticed the store had a screen showing the security camera recording him, and he shot the screen.
When a man saw Robertson point the gun at the clerk and fire, he dropped his iPhone and ran out of the 7-Eleven to get his own gun. When Robertson came out of the store, the two got into an argument that led Robertson to shoot three or four times at the man, who fired two shots back. No one was injured from the gunshots, but multiple witnesses saw the firefight unfold. Robertson took off with the phone that the man had dropped inside the store.
About ten to fifteen minutes later, Aurora Police got a call from an apartment complex at 18091 East Kentucky Avenue, less than a block east of the Burger King and 7-Eleven. A woman told the dispatcher that her friend Eugene was knocking on her door, and when she refused to open up, he fired twice into the door. She had numerous people inside at the time, according to the affidavit.
Robertson then walked over to the sliding glass door at the side of the ground-level unit and fired another bullet through the door before leaving. When police arrived, they questioned the woman and realized that Eugene was the same person who'd been at the Burger King and 7-Eleven. Officers later found him at the apartment complex, where he'd hid in the bushes.
When Robertson emerged from the bushes, an officer shot at him and missed. When Robertson was eventually caught and arrested, he didn't have his handgun on him. Officers did find the iPhone that Robertson had picked up at the 7-Eleven and more than four grams of meth, however.
While being arrested, Robertson told police that he wasn't physically hurt, but his "feelings were hurt," according to the affidavit. He also gave a false name, telling police he was Jermaine Rosenburg. But his driver's license had his true identity and showed that he lived in the apartment complex, a few doors down from the apartment he was trying to enter.
The driver's license also revealed Robertson's $2,000 outstanding felony warrant for possession of a weapon in a previous offense.
When police asked what he'd done with his gun, Robertson "seemed shocked" and said he didn't know what they were talking about.
After trying to buy Burger King with drugs, Robertson went to a nearby 7-Eleven and pointed his gun at a clerk's head. While leaving, he got into a short firefight with another customer.
Courtesy of the 18th Judicial District
When Robertson emerged from the bushes, an officer shot at him and missed. When Robertson was eventually caught and arrested, he didn't have his handgun on him. Officers did find the iPhone that Robertson had picked up at the 7-Eleven and more than four grams of meth, however.
While being arrested, Robertson told police that he wasn't physically hurt, but his "feelings were hurt," according to the affidavit. He also gave a false name, telling police he was Jermaine Rosenburg. But his driver's license had his true identity and showed that he lived in the apartment complex, a few doors down from the apartment he was trying to enter.
The driver's license also revealed Robertson's $2,000 outstanding felony warrant for possession of a weapon in a previous offense.
When police asked what he'd done with his gun, Robertson "seemed shocked" and said he didn't know what they were talking about.
According to the police, when they asked what he did with his gun, Robertson "seemed shocked" and said he didn't know what they were talking about.
Courtesy of the 18th Judicial District
Robertson was found guilty by a jury after a five-day trial in April, with 24 different counts filed against him, including eight counts of attempted murder with extreme indifference and four counts of felony menacing, illegal discharge of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, harassment and two counts of reckless endangerment, according to the 18th Judicial District.
On August 9, an Arapahoe County District judge sentenced the forty-year-old Robertson to 143 years in prison after stacking his two dozen counts. The brunt of that sentence came from the attempted-murder charges, which each carried sixteen-year sentences, while the rest of his charges called for three to six years.
"We consider the 143 years justice for the multiple victims he put in danger that night," Eric Ross, spokesperson for the 18th District, says. "Jurors recognized the severity of the crimes this defendant committed, and we believe the judge imposed an appropriate sentence."
Robertson was facing 400 years behind bars if the judge gave him a maximum sentence. Four counts were dismissed, including one attempted-murder charge, two kidnapping charges and one for harassment.
A few of his counts are running concurrently, but Ross says that serving even half of his sentence would mean Robertson would be released at 111 years old, not including five years of parole.
"Even if he gets out on good behavior, half of a 143-year sentence comes out to be about 71 years," Ross says. "Could someone live to be 111? Potentially, but it's still a lengthy sentence and something we're satisfied with."
Robertson's sentence isn't a life sentence "in the eyes of the court, but that "is a semantics-type thing. The only life sentence that can be imposed [in Colorado] is first-degree murder," Ross adds.
Ross says that a sentence greater than 100 years is rare. These kinds of large sentences are more often given in human-trafficking cases, where people can get upwards of 500 years in prison, he says.
