JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As soon as it looks like jailed Jacksonville rapper Hakeem Robinson may be close to bonding out, the state drops a new hit.
Robinson, 23, known as Ksoo, was indicted by a grand jury a couple of weeks ago on two counts of first-degree murder in two different cases.
Previously charged with second-degree murder in those cases, Robinson has been in the Duval County jail on $4 million bond for nearly two years.
The recent indictments came as his attorneys were arguing to have his bond lowered so the owner of the record label Robinson is signed to could pay his bail.
Duval County Circuit Court Judge Tatiana Salvador was set to render her decision on lowering Robinson's bond when the indictments were announced making the bond a moot issue.
Robinson will stay behind bars for now. And with the new charges, he could be there for life.
Robinson's attorneys aren’t surprised at the new charges saying that's the state’s tactic to make sure their client isn’t released from jail.
"No coincidence here. Each time we push release issues they up the charges," Robinson's attorneys Christopher DeCoste and Tara Kawass told First Coast News following the indictments. "We win bond on the first case they hit him with a new murder. We get major traction on reduction of the two bonds on both and they up the charges. It reeks of desperation.”
After catching his first murder charge in the Jan. 15, 2020 shooting death of Charles McCormick, 23, Robinson was jailed on $1 million bond.
Jonny Shipes, CEO of Cinematic Music Group, which Robinson is signed to, was in the process of trying to post the bond, when the state announced a new murder charge.
This time Robinson was charged in the Feb. 25, 2019 shooting death of 16-year-old Adrian Gainer Jr., also known as Bibby. Robinson's bond for this case was $3 million.
“The state was aware of the second homicide, but waited to charge him until he was about to post bond,” Kawass told Judge Salvador at the bond reduction hearing a few weeks ago.
At that hearing, State Attorney Joel Cooper hinted in his closing statement that the state may have more in store for Robinson cautioning the judge on allowing his release.
“He (Robinson) has two murder cases that are currently pending before your honor and to be quite candid, after next week, there might be another change to the level of those charges,” Cooper told the judge.
After Cooper uttered that prophetic statement, Kawass suggested to the judge that the state is violating Robinson’s rights by withholding information and pending charges with the sole means of keeping her client in jail.
“Mr. Cooper, almost once again, in a weird way saying if he (Robinson) posts bond again, you guys are going to drop another murder charge on him?”
That question was answered days later with the upgraded first-degree murder charges.
"Defendants almost always get an invite to appear before the grand jury. Mr. Robinson, however, wasn’t invited because the government knows that had he walked into the room any grand juror would quickly find that Mr. Robinson cannot be the small statured shooter in the video," Robinson's attorneys statement to First Coast News says.
