NEW ROCHELLE, NY (March 6, 2023) — Safiyy Shakir-Sharif Robinson, 26, of Newark, NJ, was sentenced Thursday in Westchester County Criminal Court by Judge James A. McCarty, Jr. to 6 months in jail as part of a 5-year shock probation sentence under a negotiated plea.
Robinson stole an SUV in Greenwich, led police on a high-speed chase through several jurisdictions across two states, struck a police vehicle in Scarsdale, before abandoning the SUV in New Rochelle. He was apprehended after a foot pursuit.
Robinson was indicted by a Westchester County Grand Jury on July 5, 2022. He was arraigned on the charges in the indictment on July 15, 2022, and released. A Determination of Readiness was held on October 14, 2022, before Judge Robert J. Prisco who transferred the docket on November 2, 2022, to Judge McCarty in the TAP (trial assignment part) where Robinson pleaded guilty and was scheduled for sentencing on March 2, 2023.
At the sentencing, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office stated for the record it had recommended a sentence of 1 to 3 years in New York State prison. Judge McCarty stated the Westchester County Department of Probation Pre-Sentencing Report recommended a split sentence of 6 months shock incarceration in jail and 5 years probation. Judge Robert J. Prisco had previously agreed to a negotiated plea of 6 months shock incarceration in jail and 5 years probation.
Judge McCarty, Jr. honored the previously negotiated deal where Safiyy Robinson took responsibility for his actions, pleaded guilty to Criminal Possession of Stolen Property – 2nd, and agreed to a sentence of 5 years shock probation that will include 6 months in Westchester County Jail. The jail time will run concurrent to the probation.
Robinson has another matter in New Jersey, and his probation will also run concurrent to the probation in New Jersey. After he serves his jail time, Robinson will be transferred to New Jersey on a probation case.
According to news accounts in 2017, Robinson, then residing in West Orange, NJ, was arrested, along with two other men, in a parking lot on the campus of William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ. The three men were not students at the school, although one had previously been a student at the school.
According to university police, recovered were three handguns including a defaced .45-caliber revolver stolen out of Virginia, a semi-automatic handgun and a pellet gun, along with ammunition with hollow-point bullets, ski masks and a large amount of marijuana.
One report cited a source saying the three men were recording images on a camera and appeared like they “intended to do serious harm.”
Robinson and the other two men were charged with weapon possession and possession of marijuana and spent time at the Passaic County Jail.
NJ.COM: Men brought weapons to William Paterson University, authorities charge
Patch: 3 Men With Weapons At William Paterson University Arrested
Daily Voice: William Paterson University Police Seize Trio With Guns, Ammo, Ski Masks
EDITOR’S NOTE: We were unable to locate a record of Robinson’s conviction in the New Jersey in the state’s criminal conviction database, but his attorney on Thursday said his sentence of probation was “on or about November 2022”.
On Thursday afternoon, Robinson was transported from the Westchester County Courthouse to the custody of the Westchester County Department of Correction at 5:03 pm.
Robinson is still facing car theft charges in Connecticut.
Robinson was arrested by Westchester County Police in New Rochelle, New York following a pursuit that began after Robinson stole a black Land Rover SVU valued at over $50,000 in Greenwich, Connecticut.
At 3:26 p.m. on March 5, 2022, a hotline message was broadcast reporting that a 2019 Range Rover was just stolen from Round Hill Road in Greenwich, Conn. A short time later, County Police located the vehicle as it traveled southbound on the Hutchison River Parkway near Mamaroneck Road in Scarsdale.
Officers attempted a traffic stop near Weaver Street, but Robinson refused to pull over, striking a County Police patrol car as it fled. The vehicle exited at Weaver Street and traveled at a high speed into New Rochelle. With the Aviation Unit helicopter overhead, ground units terminated the pursuit.
The stolen car was observed by the Aviation Unit, traveling on Pinebrook Boulevard and turning into Pell Place. The driver abandoned the car and ran off. Aviation directed County Police and New Rochelle police officers to a backyard on Pinebrook Boulevard, where the suspect was taken into custody as he attempted to climb a fence to elude capture.
Robinson was transported to County Police headquarters and booked.
He was arraigned in New Rochelle City Court on March 5, 2022, given a return date of March 16, then released on his own recognizance.
Robinson was charged with Criminal Possession of Stolen Property — 2, a class C felony, Reckless Endangerment — 2, a class A misdemeanor, Reckless Driving, a misdemeanor, Unlawful Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle — 3, a class A misdemeanor, and multiple violations of Vehicle & Traffic Law, including Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident.
When he appeared in the gallery of Part 1 of the New Rochelle City Court on March 16, Robinson was escorted out of the courtroom by a New York State Court Officer and led downstairs to police headquarters, where he was booked on a Felony Fugitive from Justice charge based on an active arrest warrant out of Connecticut for auto theft.
Robinson was then remanded to the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla pending extradition to Connecticut.
On March 21, 2022, Robinson was extradited from the Westchester County Jail to Connecticut, where he arrested by Greenwich Police. He was arraigned at Geographical Area 1 Court in Stamford on a charge of Larceny — First, a B Felony, as the value of the stolen motor vehicle exceeding ten thousand dollars. He was held on a $100,000 Bond, later reduced.
The next day, on March 22, Robinson was admitted to the Bridgeport Correctional Center. He posted a $25,000 Bond and was released from custody on June 27, 2022.
Safiyy Robinson is on for a Disposition Hearing in Geographical Area 1 Court in Stamford, CT on April 20, 2023.
EDITOR’S NOTE: With the disposition of the New York case, we filed a Freedom of Information request for video recorded by the Westchester County Police Department Aviation Unit, which pursued Robinson into New Rochelle. We will update this article with that video once delivered.
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