Man gets lengthy sentence for fatal shooting of Minnesota girl who was jumping on trampoline

By WDIO

State of Minnesota Photo: MGN

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 37 years in prison for fatally shooting a 9-year-old Minnesota girl as she was jumping on a trampoline with friends.

D’Pree Shareef Robinson, 20, pleaded guilty in March to second-degree murder in the 2021 death of Trinity Ottoson-Smith, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. He later tried unsuccessfully to withdraw the guilty plea.

A criminal complaint said Trinity died in a gang-related drive-by shooting. The trampoline in a backyard was in the line of fire between Robinson and intended targets, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.

The shooting in May 2021 was among three that summer in which children were struck in Minneapolis.

Several relatives and friends of Trinity attended the sentencing hearing. Her father and stepmother read letters from siblings and Trinity’s best friend, Avayla, whose birthday was being celebrated when Trinity was shot.

“I don’t have my best friend. Instead she’s above me,” Avayla’s letter read.