Columbus police: Man threatened couple with gun after they gave him a ride

A man threatened a married couple with a gun after the husband agreed to give him and two women a ride to Mellon Street, according to testimony Wednesday in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Darious Jamal Robinson, 18, pleaded not guilty to carrying a concealed weapon without a license, theft by receiving stolen property and possession of cocaine. He was ordered held without bond in the Muscogee County Jail.

Judge Julius Hunter bound the case over to Superior Court.

Columbus Police Officer Aaron Hoffa said he was traveling along North Lumpkin Road on July 13 when he noticed a 2001 Ford Tarus with a paper tag parked at the Big Cat Fuels gas station at 2936 North Lumpkin Road.

Hoffa stopped at the gas station and tried to locate the owner of the vehicle to make him aware of the traffic violation. He said he spotted two black women in the back seat of the car with a man later identified as Robinson standing next to the front passenger door.

Hoffa said a man at the gas station who was later identified as the owner of the vehicle signaled for him to walk toward him. He quietly told the officer that Robinson was armed with a gun.

“He stated that a short time earlier that the passenger, Darious Robinson, along with the two females in the back seat, asked him and his wife for a ride to Mellon Street while they were parked in the parking lot of Big Cat Fuels earlier that evening,” the Hoffa testified.

The car owner said he agreed to drive all three of them to their destination and they entered the vehicle. When they arrived on Mellon Street, Robinson allegedly pulled a gun out of his pocket and said, “Anybody can get it tonight.”

The driver said he told Robinson that the car was starting to overheat and they needed to return to the gas station. After he drove to the gas station, he got out of the car and opened his hood.

“He also asked his wife to exit the vehicle and told her to walk home, so she wouldn’t get hurt,” Hoffa told the court. “The victim said he was attempting to call 911 outside of eyesight of Darious Robinson, so he would not become suspicious.”

Hoffa said the victim gave him consent to search the Ford, where he located a loaded .45 caliber handgun that was reported stolen from Lee County. Officials said $10 worth of cocaine was in the suspect’s possession.

Robinson was taken into custody on the scene after one of the women in the vehicle told police the gun belonged to him, according to police.

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Columbus police: Man threatened couple with gun after they gave him a ride."