Scranton man charged in tire shop shooting sentenced for illegal weapon possession
Oct. 5—A Scranton business owner who told police he shot a hostile man at his Pine Brook tire shop last year will serve a state prison sentence.
Alfred R. Robinson, 37, of 502 Harrison Ave., was sentenced Wednesday to 18 to 36 months by Lackawanna County Judge Andy Jarbola.
The prison term, however, is not for Robinson's shooting of Ferrew Atkins on Aug. 13, 2021. When he pleaded guilty in July to possession of firearms prohibited; other counts, such as aggravated assault, were dropped. Convicted in 2006, in South Carolina for a drug-related felony, Robinson was forbidden from possessing the handgun he fired in the 1002 Capouse Ave. business, according to court filings.
City police responded to the garage bay of Pop's Tires on Aug. 13, 2021, to find Atkins sitting in a chair bleeding from two gunshot wounds. He survived the encounter.
Soon after, a sweating Robinson identified himself to police and declared, "I shot the guy," according to a criminal complaint.
Atkins, Robinson told them, entered the business to start a fight with a customer and waved around a pipe.
Robinson warned Atkins to leave or he would get a gun, police said. Atkins continued to fight and Robinson fired twice, police said.
Calling it "one of the worst things that happened in my life," Robinson apologized Wednesday during a virtual hearing before Jarbola and said he acted on instinct to protect a customer.
Robinson's attorney, Terrence McDonald, said surveillance footage from the shop demonstrated Atkins was going to harm Robinson. He also noted Robinson quickly admitted what had happened.
Robinson runs two businesses, has a daughter and is a respected member of his community, McDonald said. Robinson also owns Prime Kutz Barber Shop, according to state business records.
McDonald asked the judge to consider the context of the case.
Assistant District Attorney Jerry Grill said Robinson still possessed a firearm when he should not have. Jarbola questioned why Robinson simply could not pick up a phone and call 911.
"He was a large guy," Robinson replied.
How Robinson obtained the weapon was also the subject of a criminal probe.
In January, the state attorney general's office charged Amanda Gerald, 35, also of 502 Harrison Ave., who authorities said was Robinson's girlfriend, with offenses alleging she pretended to buy firearms for herself but illegally gave or sold them to others, including Robinson.
Agents said Robinson used the 9 mm Glock 17 she gave him to shoot Atkins. After police confiscated that gun, she got him a 9 mm Taurus G2C though she knew he could not possess such a weapon, authorities said. Investigators said she also sold four guns in Brooklyn, New York, to another man for $1,700.
Gerald is scheduled for trial Tuesday on six counts of illegal sale or transfer of firearms and 12 counts each of unsworn falsification to authorities and tampering with public records.
In a motion filed this week, her attorney, Mark Hinrichs, asked for a delay to finalize a resolution and noted prosecutors agreed with his request.
Gerald is free on $25,000 bail.
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100, x5187; @jkohutTT on Twitter.
