One in a series on unsolved cases in Ruston and Lincoln Parish.
by Wesley Harris
Case No. 5
Antonio Robinson
Type of Case: Homicide
Date: July 7, 2025
Status: Unsolved
At about 2:30 a.m. on July 7, 2020, the Ruston Police Department was notified the Northern Louisiana Medical Center emergency room staff was treating a gunshot victim.
Patrol officers went to the emergency room and launched an initial investigation. As officers were interviewing witnesses and attempting to identify evidence, the victim died from his wounds.
Antonio Robinson, 20, of Minden, was a recent Minden High School graduate and father to an infant daughter when he was killed.
The shooting occurred on North Service Road west of U.S. 167. Robinson was a passenger in a vehicle traveling west on the North Service Road after leaving the Whataburger restaurant. The vehicle then stopped at the Exxon station at Vienna Street and the Service Road before continuing left west on the North Service Road when the suspects began shooting.
Robinson was struck in the back about where the North Service Road—Woodward Avenue—passes the underpass below Interstate 20. The driver continued to the hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.
Robinson’s case remains unsolved but not forgotten by Ruston Police.
Five years after Antonio Robinson was shot and killed, the family approached the news media seeking help in finding answers.
In a July 2025 television interview, Robinson’s family said their pain hasn’t faded.
“I feel broken and shattered,” his mother, Alishia Robinson, told KNOE-TV.
Robinson’s daughter was just eight months old at the time of his death. She continues to ask about the father she never got to know, according to her grandmother.
“She didn’t get a chance to know him, but she loves her dad,” said Robinson’s mother. “She’s crazy about him.”
Despite their grief, his family gathered on a Sunday in July 2025 to celebrate his life rather than focus solely on his death. They shared stories, remembered his kindness, and expressed hope someone will come forward with new information that will resolve the case.
“My baby would give you the shirt off his back,” Alishia said. “He didn’t bother anybody.”
In the 2025 interview, the family said they wanted to mark the scene of the shooting to honor Antonio and keep his memory alive.
“If they can just tell us where it happened, we can put something there,” said Robinson’s mother. “Let these people know an innocent loved one died there.”
In the past year, the Ruston Police Department has prioritized taking a new look at unsolved cases. Investigators are combing through dozens of cold cases of homicides and missing persons, hoping fresh eyes will catch untested evidence or an opportunity to reinterview a witness.
Technology that didn’t exist at the time of the crime has also been applied to some of the cold cases.
One cold case homicide was cleared by an arrest just a month ago.
Hannah Laborde, an investigator with RPD, has been working on the Robinson case for several months as part of this renewed effort.
Anyone with information on the Antonio Robinson case can contact Laborde at 318-255-4141 or anonymously through Crimestoppers at 318-255-1111.
