Transient Who Shot Stunt Man in ’87 Road Incident Gets 12 Years

A 19-year-old transient was sentenced to 12 years in state prison Tuesday for attempted murder in the August roadway shooting of a stunt driver during the height of last summer’s traffic-related violence.

Thomas Lee Robison pleaded guilty last month to the attempted murder of stunt man Henry Kingi, the estranged husband of actress Lindsay Wagner. He entered his guilty plea just moments before his trial was scheduled to begin on May 23.

The Aug. 1 shooting occurred during a traffic dispute in Studio City between Robison, who was with a carload of youths, and Kingi, 43, who was driving with his 4-year-old son.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Howard J. Schwab said he sentenced Robison to the maximum term because of the “callous and violent nature of the attack.”

Ventura Boulevard

Kingi testified at a preliminary hearing that he and his son were driving on Ventura Boulevard about 7:30 p.m. when a Jeep containing seven youths cut in front of him and forced his car into the center divider. After the Jeep narrowly avoided hitting Kingi’s car at a traffic light at Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Kingi said he got out of his car and confronted the driver.

The driver, a young woman, yelled for her friends to “get him” and a man jumped out and began arguing with Kingi, according to court documents. Kingi attempted to hit the man, but missed. Then, Robison got out of the Jeep and pointed an automatic pistol at Kingi. When he pulled the trigger, the gun did not fire, Kingi testified. Robison then kicked Kingi in the groin, stood back, loaded his gun and shot him in the chest, according to court documents. Kingi’s son was not injured.

Bullet Lodged in Chest

Robison ran away and the Jeep’s other occupants drove off. Kingi drove himself to nearby North Hollywood Medical Center. He was hospitalized for five days. The bullet went through his left arm, lodged in his chest and has not yet been removed, according to court documents.

The Jeep’s occupants were taken into custody about 30 minutes after the shooting and identified Robison as the gunman. Police spent nearly six weeks searching for Robison, who lived on the streets and worked as a male prostitute, according to court documents.

Robison told court officers that he tested positive for the AIDS virus, according to the probation report.

Since his arrest on Sept. 14, Robison has been in Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail. No charges were filed against Robison’s companions.

Robison claimed to be under the influence of PCP, or phencyclidine, at the time of the shooting, according to the probation report. He said he shot Kingi in the chest because he “ran after me,” according to the report.

Robison said he realizes what he did was wrong and hopes to improve himself by taking college classes while in prison, according to the probation report.

Donald G. Goldsobel, Robison’s attorney, described his client as “an angry kid whose parents abandoned him.”

With time off for good behavior, Robison could serve as little as half of his remaining 12-year prison sentence, Goldsobel said.

Two 17-year-old girls who identified themselves as “his closest friends” were at the sentencing because “we just feel sorry for him. He’s got no one, no family, no friends.”

As he was escorted back to jail by a bailiff, Robison smiled and winked at the two girls. The girls said they regularly write to him in jail and send him “books, money and cards--so at least he knows that people care.”