A jury in Gilmer acquitted Robert Lee Travis of murder Oct. 25, effectively ruling that he acted in self-defense by shooting a man in a video-recorded incident at the defendant’s Ore City home in 2021, said Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd’s office.
Travis, now 44, was cleared in the May 1, 2021, death of Braiden Ray Robinson, 32, of Ore City, said Byrd, who said one of his assistants, Barry Wallace, tried the case. A former assistant to Byrd, Longview attorney Edward Choy, represented Travis, who didn’t testify.
The 115th District Court jury heard four days of testimony, starting Oct. 22, before deliberating approximately an hour, said Byrd, who wasn’t present at the trial. The jury was chosen Oct. 14, and the trial then experienced many delays “just due to witness scheduling,” he said.
The shooting occurred at a gathering, and “something took place that caused the victim (Robinson) to become upset,” Byrd said. Robinson threw a glass, punched a car, and pushed a woman down before being shot multiple times “as he turned to walk toward his truck,” the district attorney said.
State law stipulates that someone must have been in danger of immediate bodily harm to justify his/her action as self-defense, and Robinson had no weapon when he was wounded, Byrd added.
Testimony about the .45 caliber pistol used showed Robinson was shot once in the back and six times that were “kinda clustered together” in the right arm, the district attorney said.
First law enforcement officer to arrive on the scene, then-Ore City police officer Joshua Whitaker, testified as his body cam showed Robinson still alive and struggling, then “showed Braiden take his last breath,” said Byrd.
Choy called as witnesses one of the men who attended the party, the man’s sister, who testified she was pushed down in a shop building, and the defense’s own pathologist, the prosecutor added. The state had called Danielle Armstrong, a pathologist who performed an autopsy on Robinson.
The prosecution also called several current and former employees of the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office as witnesses and one, now retired-Lt. Gary Shirley, testified concerning the findings of investigator Marc Rider (who died unexpectedly before the case came to trial), said Byrd.
115th District Judge Dean Fowler presided in the case.
– By Phillip Williams