West Sacramento Man Gets 45 To Life For 2009 Murder
WOODLAND (CBS13) – A West Sacramento man who murdered another West Sacramento man more than two years ago has been sentenced to 45 years to life in state prison.
Christopher Allen Smith, 31, was sentenced Friday by Yolo County Superior Court Judge Stephen Mock for murdering Gidd Gomel Robinson IV on November 3, 2009.
Shortly after noon on that date, Smith was driving with his 7-year-old son in his pick-up truck after leaving his father's house in West Sacramento. Smith, who is white encountered Robinson, who was black, as Robinson was walking his children to school.
After Robinson gave Smith a "hard stare" and Smith "flipped him off," Smith drove his truck around the corner and loaded his gun. Robinson approached the truck and at that point, Smith fired one fatal shot at Robinson.
Smith immediately drove to the Elkhorn boat ramp and tossed the gun in the river and rubbed mud on his hands to conceal any gunshot residue. Witnesses gave a detailed description of Smith and his vehicle, and he was arrested on Old River Road as he was leaving the boat ramp.
Detectives seized a computer from Smith's home that was later forensically analyzed, and the analysis revealed that Smith regularly visited numerous racist websites containing inflammatory pictures and articles about black people.
"This horrific tragedy has made me become so much stronger than I could've ever imagined," said Robinson's fiancé, Jennifer Richardson, during the victim impact portion of sentencing. "Mr. Smith stole the life of my fiancé, my best friend, the daddy to my babies. Over these past two years I've had to learn how to become the single mother that I never thought I would be."
"The jury was thoughtful and worked hard to bring about a just verdict," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven, who
prosecuted the case. "I know that Gidd's family feels that justice was served."
