“His assaults were racially motivated, and he was targeting white men.”
Justin Tyran Roberts, a 39-year-old black guy, went on the lookout for white victims, driving around looking for males who didn’t look like him. The poor victims, white males with military physiques, were kidnapped and held captive for two days in two different states, wherever Mr. Roberts could locate them. A detective testified Monday that the suspect told police his assaults were racially motivated and that he was targeting white guys.
On Monday, Detective Brandon Lockhart testified that Roberts told police, based on the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports: “white men had picked on him and wronged him for all his life. Basically, he explained throughout his life, specifically white males had taken from him, and also what he described as military-looking white males had taken from him.”
Roberts was in court on Monday for a preliminary hearing in connection with one of the incidents in which he shot a guy in the back as he was getting into his car. Detective Lockhart stated that Roberts said about the victim, “I had to have him.”
Mr. Lockhart testified that Roberts said that military-looking white males had been “shooting at him in a wooded area with a slingshot,” infecting his skin. However, he said that there was no evidence of injuries to back up his assertion.
On Saturday June 12, 2021, officers from the Columbus Police Department arrested Mr. Justin Tyran Roberts (B/M/39). He is believed to have shot 5 people in the preceding 20 hours. pic.twitter.com/wS51L7uYhX
— Columbus, Georgia Police Department (@CPDGA) June 13, 2021
Mr. Roberts’ public attorney, Robin King, requested that he be evaluated for mental illness, claiming that he was plainly suffering from delusions. “The officer’s testimony has demonstrated that Mr. Roberts is suffering from delusions and has lost touch with reality,” King told the judge.
In Columbus, Georgia, and Pheonix City, Alabama, five people were shot in three distinct incidents. Each of the five victims is expected to make a full recovery.
Sources: 100percentfedup.com, apnews.com