An 18-year-old accused of pointing a gun at a Dallas police officer says he is apologetic for his alleged crimes, including one for which he has yet to be charged.
Darron Robinson will turn 19 on Saturday, a milestone he will mark in jail. He is charged with aggravated assault of a public servant and evading police.
"I just want to be at home," Robinson told NBC 5 in an exclusive jailhouse interview.
When asked how his life had spiraled, Robinson said he ignored the warnings from his mother and loved ones, who always told him to steer clear of older men on the block who were up to no good,
"I was being a follower; that's all I can say," he said.
Robinson admitted that he was scared and ran from police on Wednesday. An undercover Dallas police officer fired a shot while pursuing Robinson, a suspect in the armed robbery of a convenience store one day earlier.
"I just want everybody to know I ain't no menace or nothing like that," Robinson said. "I ain't trying to hurt anyone."
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Robinson said he robbed the store but said he never pointed a gun.
"I used the gun but I never pointed it at his face," he said. "I just showed him that I had the gun."
As officers approached Robinson near the same store on Wednesday, he ran through an apartment complex. He said he still had the gun on him but denied pointing it at the officer,
"I grabbed it out my shirt, but just to throw it; never to hurt anyone," he said. "I was just trying to run away and get rid of the gun. I never pointed it at anyone. I threw it, and I just kept running while he shot at me."
According to police reports, Robinson ditched the gun, tossing it onto a patio in the apartment complex. He then hid beneath a car before police found him.
Robinson said he recently got a gun only for protection. He showed NBC 5 a fresh bullet wound in his lower back area, saying he was shot in recent weeks while he was passenger in a car. The shooter is still on the loose and neither he nor police know who is responsible, he said.
Robinson said he is afraid of guns and would never point them at anyone. All he could think to do when police came after him was to run and try to get rid of the weapon to avoid being charged with having a gun, he said.
