Ex-Pride player's bond set high in shooting of officer

A request to lower the amount of bond was denied.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LIBERTY -- A former basketball standout accused of shooting a township police officer may not be getting out of jail -- at least not before his trial date.
Garry Robbins, 43, of Norwood Avenue, Youngstown, faces several felony and misdemeanor charges in the early Sunday shooting of Sgt. Robert Greaf, a 20-year veteran of the township police department.
Greaf was shot in the forearm during a struggle with Robbins and taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center. Township officials said Greaf underwent surgery on his arm Monday and is expected to return home today.
Robbins is charged with felonious assault, aggravated robbery, resisting arrest, obstructing official business, and misdemeanor criminal trespass.
Robbins was a member of the Youngstown Pride professional basketball team in the late 1980s. He also was a member of the Youngstown State University Penguins basketball team from 1984-86 and led the Penguins in scoring in 1986.
Township officers in court Monday described Robbins' arrest record as being 5 to 6 feet long.
Arrest record
Liberty police Capt. Richard Tisone said Robbins' arrest record goes back to 1995 and includes theft, robbery, drug possession and a 1996 felonious assault conviction involving a police officer.
Tisone said the department asked the court for a high bond. "Based on Robbins' record, which is lengthy, and the shooting of a police officer, we think he would be a flight risk. We would ask the court to set bail as high as possible," he said.
Robbins, seeming confused and full of questions about the charges, appeared before Magistrate Mark Finamore for arraignment Monday. He was given a $500,000 bond but asked the magistrate if that amount could be lowered because he could not post the required 10 percent.
Robbins' request was denied. He is to appear in Girard Municipal Court on July 19.
Robbins asked during the arraignment when the results of the gunshot residue test performed on him by the Liberty Police Department would be available. The test can determine if Robbins actually fired a gun a short time before his arrest.
Tisone said the test was sent to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and should be back in a couple of weeks. Tisone said that the important issue is that an officer was shot.
What happened
According to Tisone, Greaf arrived home just before 6 a.m. Sunday driving a marked township cruiser after working the midnight shift. Tisone said Robbins was rummaging through a van on Greaf's property when the officer confronted him.
Tisone said Robbins was likely unaware that the van belonged to a township officer.
"I can't believe for a second that he even fathomed that," he said. "I believe he saw the van sitting out front and decided to go through it."
Tisone said Robbins ran off into a wooded area after Greaf had been shot. Officers from every local police department, including a helicopter supplied by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, assisted in the search.
A woman on Burning Tree Lane noticed Robbins walking down the street and called police. Tisone said Robbins was covered in sweat when confronted and said, "I didn't shoot that policeman," before officers asked him about the shooting.
Tisone said Greaf is a firearms instructor and an instructor for defensive tactics.
jgoodwin@vindy.com