Pair arrested on shooting charges
Sharp eyes and calm nerves among staff members at Butler YMCA on Friday afternoon resulted in the arrest of a Butler couple police say are responsible for an attempted shooting last week on North Sixth Avenue.
Raheem Robinson, 26, and Mackenzie Peters, 22, were arrested shortly after noon on Friday, after they walked into the YMCA on North Washington Street and asked to buy a day pass, saying they wanted to play basketball.
Dave Hilliard, president of the Butler YMCA, was in the building when Robinson and Peters walked in. He said the pair's arrival was immediately noted by YMCA staff members, who recognized the pair from news stories about the April 5 shooting.
“It did surprise everyone,” Hilliard said. “But as a staff it was unclear where exactly things stood with any case, so we felt the right thing to do would be to alert the authorities.”
After Peters and Robinson purchased their day pass from the front desk and went upstairs to use one of the YMCA's basketball courts, Hilliard said, he went to a member of law enforcement who was already in the building.
“We sold them a day membership and then just kept an eye on them while we alerted the authorities in the building. It could have been nothing. It turned out to be something,” Hilliard said.
Hilliard would not say whom he alerted, but Butler County District Attorney Rich Goldinger confirmed Friday that it was he who ultimately called police with the tip about Peters and Robinson.
“They (YMCA staff) know me down there, and they came up to me when I was working out and said 'they're in the building',” Goldinger said. “And I said 'I'll let the police know and see what they want to do.'”
What police decided to do was arrest and charge both Peters and Robinson with felony counts of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, as well as misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person, tampering with or fabricating evidence, and criminal conspiracy.
Robinson was also charged with persons not to possess a firearm, a second-degree felony.
The charges stem from what police say was a shootout on the 300 block of North Sixth Avenue at 10:37 p.m. April 5, when officers were dispatched to the area for a report of multiple gunshots.
When police arrived they found Kirisa Taimuty, who later told officers that she is the mother of Robinson's unborn twins, and had walked to Peters' home on North Sixth Avenue that night with a friend to discuss Robinson giving up his parental rights.
After Taimuty and her friend arrived, however, an argument ensued and the women left Peters' home. Taimuty said while they were walking out Robinson said “you and Kenzie going to get handled tonight.” He then made a phone call before getting into the passenger seat of Peters' white Chrysler, which then drove off with Peters behind the wheel.
Peters is the mother of Bentley Thomas Miller, who died last year after suffering injuries in what police say was a sexual assault.Taimuty and her friend began walking south on Sixth Avenue, when Taimuty saw Peters' vehicle stop in the middle of the road and Robinson get out the passenger door before crouching beside the vehicle and beginning to shoot, Taimuty said.Taimuty told police she heard six or seven gunshots, and was able to hear two distinct guns firing. After the gunfire, Taimuty said, she saw an unknown black man run north on Sixth Avenue. Robinson, she told police, got back into Peters' vehicle, which “backed up quickly and left,” the scene.According to court documents, Taimuty would later show police a text message from Peters sent in the aftermath of the shooting:“Do not call the cops Kirisa.”Police would spend the next 24 hours interviewing Taimuty and her friend, as well as canvassing the scene, where they recovered four 9 millimeter shell casings, three .45-caliber shell casings, a bullet slug, a bullet fragment and several pieces of broken plastic.Police also interviewed neighbors who said they saw both Robinson and the unknown black man on the street shooting that night.On April 10 police secured a search warrant for Peters' vehicle, which was found in Pittsburgh. Police said they found three bullet holes in the bumper of the car, and seized a wallet with Peters' identification and Social Security cards, as well as a purse with Peters' adult probation card, from inside.Police, in court documents, say the bullet damage was fresh, and that a slug and a bullet fragment were also seized from the vehicle.
