Man gets 3 life terms for LGBTQ shooting deaths

DETROIT (AP) — A 19-year-old Detroit man has been sentenced to three life terms in prison with no chance of parole for gunning down two gay men and a transgender woman who authorities believe were targeted because of their sexual orientation.

A Wayne County jury convicted Devon Kareem Robinson of first degree premeditated murder in March in the May 2019 killings of 21-year-old Alunte Davis, and 20-year-olds Timothy Blancher and Paris Cameron.

Robinson was also sentenced Tuesday to 10 to 20 years for each of two counts of assault with intent to murder and two years consecutively for five felony firearm counts.

Prosecutors said Davis and Blancher were gay men and Cameron was a transgender woman. Prosecutors and police believe they were targeted because of their sexual orientation.

The three victims were slain in the living room of a Detroit home following a house party attended by about 15 people. Robinson is also accused of shooting and wounding two other people inside the house.

A survivor testified in November that Robinson fired so many bullets that the victims’ blood seeped through the walls.

“The defendant’s actions were disturbing on so many levels,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement.

“We will continue to be vigilant in our fight to eradicate hate in Wayne County and beyond,” she said.

Robinson’s attorney, Evan Callanan Jr., said during a November hearing that there was no evidence against his client, calling prosecutors’ allegations “a fanciful theory.”