VERO BEACH — The younger of two suspects in the shooting death of an island man during a home burglary struck a plea deal and will serve 10 years in prison, the court decided Wednesday.
Darius Robinson was 16 years old when he and now-convicted murderer Henry Lee Jones, Jr., broke into Brian Simpson’s home on Fiddlewood Lane in Central Vero Beach on Nov. 17, 2011. Robinson is now 20.
Jones was convicted in October 2014 and was sentenced to serve two consecutive life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole.
Jones fatally shot Simpson through the master bathroom door as he and Robinson attempted to flee through a bathroom window.
Under the plea deal, Robinson pled no-contest to burglary of a dwelling with assault, according to court records. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Instead, Judge Robert Pegg approved a 10-year prison sentence, giving Robinson credit for time already served. Robinson has been in jail for approximately 3 ½ years, since his arrest days after Simpson’s murder. Robinson is required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence.
