Jury reaches verdict in April 2021 car wash shooting case

The case of a man charged with a shooting at a local car wash came to a swift end Thursday after a Bradley County Circuit Court jury found him not guilty.

Charles E. Lawson Jr., 33, of Warren was charged with terroristic act, a Class Y felony. It took only 30 minutes for the jury to find him innocent.

By Tim Kessler
By Tim Kessler

Saline River Chronicle Freelance Contributor

The case involved an incident in the early morning hours of April 17, 2021. Calvin C. Robinson was shot several times at the car wash located at the intersection of Central and Martin in Warren.

“It boils right down as to who fired the shots,” said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Harrod in his opening statement.

“Mr. Lawson was not the one who shot him. We don’t know who shot him. I believe we will show during the course of this trial there is reasonable doubt,” said defense attorney Caleb Baumgardner of the Baumgardner Law Firm of El Dorado.

The prosecution began by calling Anthony Gallegos II to testify. He is currently a Bradley County deputy sheriff and was a Warren Police Department supervisor at the time of the incident.

He said that at 12:30 a.m. on that date, WPD received a call about shots fired at the car wash. When he arrived at the scene, the victim walked up to him covered in blood. Robinson was bleeding profusely, so Gallegos put a tourniquet on the wound. Other officers arrived and Gallegos found six shell casings next to Robinson’s vehicle, which was in one of the car wash stalls. Gallegos also took some statements of witnesses at the Exxon service station and McDonald’s.

Under questioning from Baumgardner, Gallegos said he did not see anyone there who might have shot Robinson. He said Robinson gave a report saying an unknown person shot him.

WPD Sgt. Tim Nichols testified that his job is criminal investigator. He said the victim was removed from the scene prior to his arrival. He collected the shell casings and spoke with several witnesses. He said after viewing a video from Exxon, he established enough probable cause to get an arrest warrant for Lawson. Under questioning from Baumgardner, he said he also did not see who had shot Robinson nor did he see Lawson anywhere near the scene.

The victim testified that he had been shot at the car wash. He said the suspect came up to the window of his vehicle and fired several shots. He was shot three times.

“When the police arrived, I already knew who it was but I didn’t want to say nothing,” Robinson said. He said he couldn’t walk properly because he was shot in his leg but he hopped across the street to Exxon. From there, he was taken by EASI ambulance to Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff. He had surgery and was in the hospital for about a week.

Robinson said he still has numbness in his arm and some pain in his leg.

At first, he said he told police he didn’t know who it was who shot him. “I was hoping they didn’t catch him because I wanted him for myself,” he said. Robinson said Lawson had previously been at his home before with one of Robinson’s relatives.

Under Baumgardner, he admitted, “I lied about that incident.” He said he changed his mind about identifying Lawson as the shooter “cause I can’t get him.” He admitted that he gave a false police report. Speaking about Nichols, he said, “I didn’t tell him everything (about) what I wanted to do. I lied on purpose.”

Under Harrod, he explained the shooting by saying, “He (Lawson) was into it with another guy and he mistook my car for the other guy.”

The state rested its case and Baumgardner moved for a directed verdict outside of the jury’s presence. He said the victim admitted that he committed a felony by filing a false police report and admitted lying about the incident.

“We know that car got shot at. The only question is who did it. It’s a credibility issue for the jury to decide. It’s not a reason for a directed verdict,” Harrod said. Judge Quincey Ross then denied the motion for a directed verdict of acquittal.

In the defense’s case, Lawson was called to the stand. He denied shooting Robinson or being present at the scene. He said he was at his girlfriend’s house at the time of the shooting. He admitted being at the Exxon station minutes before it happened.

The defense rested after Lawson’s testimony. Baumgardner renewed his motion for a directed verdict outside of the jury’s presence. The motion was denied again.

After closing arguments, the judge gave instructions to the jury. The nine men and three women in the jury began deliberations at 2:02 p.m. and came back at 2:32 p.m. with the not guilty verdict.

1 comment / Add your comment below

  1. Great job, Caleb. I know the man you defended so well is grateful for your service to him.

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