Schenectady murder victim’s brother charged in Sunday shooting

PHOTOGRAPHER: Justin Mason

City Police arrested a city man on an attempted murder charge Monday in connection with a Hulett Street shooting that occurred the day after his brother was gunned down outside Joe’s Bar on Fifth Avenue.

William L. Robinson, 31, of Albany Street was charged with second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree reckless endangerment. He was also cited for a second count of criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of stolen property as a result of his arrest.

Lt. Mark McCracken offered few details about the arrest, but said it was in connection with the Sunday shooting near the Albany Street intersection with Hulett Street. He said Charles Taylor was shot in the calf through the door of his champagne-colored Infiniti shortly after 11 a.m.

Taylor then drove himself to the Mohawk Ambulance station on State Street, where he was taken to Albany Medical Center. McCracken was unsure of his condition, but said his injuries did not appear life-threatening.

McCracken said Robinson is the brother of Rashad Robinson, who was fatally shot on Saturday. He did not indicate whether the death of his brother was a motive for the shooting on Hulett Street.

“I don’t know what the motive was,” he said.

Police said Robinson was in possession of a stolen handgun when they stopped him near the intersection of Albany Street and Brandywine Avenue around 2:30 p.m. McCracken said police knew he had a loaded weapon when the stop was made and they approached his vehicle with guns drawn.

Robinson surrendered without further incident. It is unclear whether Taylor had any involvement in the Fifth Street shooting.

Rashad Robinson, 23, was shot as he stood outside the bar around 5:15 a.m. Saturday. An unknown suspect fired several shots into a crowd.

Two other people, 23-year-old George Lloyd of Schenectady and 28-year-old Shawn Coons of Rotterdam, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. Lloyd was shot in the leg, and Coons was hit in the forearm, where the bullet nicked an artery.

An impromptu memorial for Rashad Robinson was put up near the Zaid Discount store on Albany Street with about a dozen votive candles. The memorial also seemed to indicate retribution was coming: “War Time Baby” was scrawled on one of the candles and “Fire in the [expletive] hole” was on another.

McCracken said no arrests have been made in connection with the death of Rashad Robinson.