A motorist accused of fleeing the scene after striking a man retrieving an umbrella from his parked car on a stormy day in Paradise Hills pleaded not guilty Monday to a felony charge of hit-and-run causing death.
James Arthur Robbins, 47, is charged in the Jan. 19 death of 49-year-old Jose Padron.
While the victim was reaching into the driver’s side of the car on Albemarle Street, a vehicle allegedly driven by Robbins crossed over a double- yellow line and struck Padron, according to Deputy District Attorney David McNees.
No one apparently witnessed the crash, but Robbins’ girlfriend came home to her nearby residence and noticed damage to her car that she let the defendant use, the prosecutor said.
The girlfriend called police, but Robbins took off and was allegedly on the run for about a month before being jailed for an alleged parole violation, about which McNees would not comment.
Robbins, who has two robbery convictions, faces eight years in prison if convicted, the prosecutor said.
The defendant — held on $300,000 bail — will be back in court April 6 for a readiness conference and April 10 for a preliminary hearing.
–City News Service
