A former Little Rock police officer accused of helping to escort drugs across the city is on trial this week for a second time after a jury deadlocked the first time.
Randall Tremayne Robinson, also known as "Dirty Rob," is facing five federal charges: conspiracy to aid and abet the possession with intent to distribute marijuana, attempting to aid and abet the drug distribution, use of a communication facility in drug trafficking, misprision of a felony, and making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer.
Robinson was convicted last year of distributing marijuana in 2009, but the jury was hung on three other drug charges in a separate case related to a 2012 FBI sting. Prosecutors had said they would retry the case.
During the new trial Monday, prosecutors contended that on March 22, 2012, Robinson and his half-brother and fellow Little Rock police officer, Mark Anthony Jones, escorted 1,000 pounds of marijuana across the city while in uniform and on duty. In return for the security, prosecutors said Jones received a total of $10,000 in two vacuum-sealed packages from a man who was working as an informant for the FBI, stuffed the packages under his bulletproof vest and gave half of the cash to Robinson.
"[There is] no proof whatsoever that Randall got any of that money," Robinson's attorney, Bill James, said during opening statements. "None. He's not in any of those conversations" about moving the drugs.
James said Robinson "had no knowledge" of what his brother was doing or that he was helping to transport the drugs.
"It's all speculation -- all of it," James said. "Nothing more and nothing less."
James later pointed out numerous times that law enforcement officers could have strengthened their evidence against Robinson -- such as recording the interview FBI agents had with Robinson, acquiring wiretaps on disposable cellphones, coming to court with notes from the 2012 sting -- but they didn't.
At the time, it was an FBI policy to not record interviews with suspects, but the agency is working to change that policy, FBI special agent Mike Lowe said, adding that agents needed special permission to record. The agent also said he doesn't normally bring notes with him to court and that it would have been difficult for the investigators to get a wiretap on the disposable cellphones with the amount of time they had before the sting.
The sting started after an Aug. 4, 2009, incident in which Little Rock police, along with FBI agents, arranged for a confidential informant to call the officer and ask to buy marijuana.
Investigators watched and listened as they said Robinson met the man in the parking lot in the Barrington Hills Apartments on Reservoir Road and accepted $600 from the man. Robinson's conviction stemmed from that incident.
After the 2009 incident, Little Rock police sought the FBI's help in looking into other allegations against Robinson and Jones, who is also known as "Money Mark" and "Training Day."
In 2012 stings, the FBI watched twice in January when Jones provided escorts for smaller amounts of marijuana from Colonel Glenn Road and Interstate 430 to a storage facility off Green Mountain Road, Lowe said. After those stings, Jones met his half-brother and appeared on one occasion to hand Robinson something, Lowe testified.
That next month, Jones went to California to meet with the FBI informant and the informant's supplier, who was an undercover FBI agent, prosecutors said. There, Jones and the informant laid out plans to move bigger shipments of marijuana -- some 1,000 pounds -- into Arkansas. But they needed an extra hand in the security because of the larger quantity.
In audio recordings, Jones told the informant that the officer could get his half-brother to help escort the drugs. The informant checked to ensure both were on board twice before investigators moved in on the sting.
The night before the sting, the informant bought four prepaid cellphones, kept one, gave one to the undercover FBI agent and two to Jones.
On March 22, 2012, the two officers were on duty -- Jones was parked near the site where the informant transferred the marijuana from a tractor-trailer to smaller vans, and Robinson was stationed at Colonel Glenn and Shackleford roads, prosecutors said. Jones watched as the informant and undercover FBI agent from California loaded the vans with the marijuana, prosecutors said.
Once they were done, Jones followed the undercover agent to a storage facility in west Little Rock, while Robinson followed the informant to the Green Mountain Road facility, prosecutors said.
As they were moving the drugs, Little Rock police officers in separate vehicles rushed -- with lights and sirens on -- to a shooting and hostage situation call in the 3900 block of Saint James Court, Lowe testified.
The informant said Monday that he looked back at Robinson, who had been trailing him, and didn't receive a signal, so they kept going.
Like the other two operations, the officers kept going down the road once the drivers got to the storage facilities, agents said. Afterward, Jones met the informant to get the $10,000.
Jones pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted aiding and abetting the distribution of 1,000 pounds of marijuana. He was sentenced last year to 8 1/2 years in prison.
Robinson previously told FBI agents he was never involved with drugs and that he was working an accident off Cantrell Road that day in March. He denied following a white van and getting money or a cellphone from his brother, agents said.
During Robinson's trial Monday, U.S. District Judge Brian Miller released a juror, whose husband had talked to one of Robinson's cousins and was later introduced to the defendant, James said, adding it was precautionary. The juror was replaced with an alternate.
Robinson's trial continues today.
Metro on 06/17/2014