Shaking and sobbing, Johnathan Robinson -- the man accused of killing his former girlfriend in a crime shown live on Facebook -- listened Tuesday as a Shreveport police detective recounted what happened that day.
Robinson, 36, is facing second-degree murder charges in the April shooting of Rannita "Nunu" Williams as she livestreamed it on Facebook from her home.
During a hearing Tuesday in Caddo District Court, Shreveport police Sgt. Jeff Brown testified Robinson forced Williams to go live on Facebook to apologize to Robinson's new girlfriend. Robinson then pointed a semi-automatic rifle at Williams and shot her, Brown said.
"She sustained several gunshot wounds," Brown said.
As Brown described the gunshot wounds – starting with a bullet in Williams' knee and at least two in her torso – Robinson, hands and feet shackled, began twisting in his chair. He began to sob as courtroom bailiffs put steadying hands on him. Members of his family sat stoically on the front row, never taking their eyes off him.
Williams' family, including her mother, Anita Williams, packed the back bench in the small second-floor courtroom. Several wore pink, Rannita Williams' favorite color, or T-shirts with her photo on then.
The detective continued his testimony, describing his initial interview with Robinson. Robinson surrendered to police after a standoff in which Williams was shot and shots were fired at officers who had surrounded her house.
"He told me he woke up that morning with the intent to kill Rannita Williams and have a shootout with police, and he did just that," Brown said.
Williams' family members wailed and started walking out – and Robinson jumped from his chair, toppling backward to the floor and taking the chair with him.
Defense and prosecution attorneys sitting at the table at the front of the courtroom backed away as bailiffs surrounded Robinson, holding him gently but firmly on the ground until he stopped struggling.
"Everybody, just calm down," District Judge Ramona Emanuel said at one point.
Deputies then picked Robinson up and put him back the chair. "No; no," he moaned, before covering his face as the hearing continued.
The Facebook live stream showed a third person in the room before Williams was killed. Brown testified that individual was Williams' brother, who came into the house at one point but was allowed to leave.
The standoff began after Robinson went to Williams' house on Natalie Street and kicked in the door, Brown testified.
During the standoff, video shows Robinson firing at police outside the house. One shot hit Cpl. Robert Entrekin in the wrist. The detective testified that more than 30 shots were fired and bullets were recovered from surrounding houses and vehicles.
Robinson is jailed under $2.5 million bond. His case is expected to be presented to the Caddo Parish grand jury in two weeks.