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Blood-covered hat found inside library's trash can
Covington Police Car - UPDATED.JPG

COVINGTON, Ga. - A bloody hat along with three bloody paper towels was found inside and around the Newton County Library’s east entrance trash can Monday morning.

The bloody hat was found by a library employee, according to the Covington Police Department report. Officer David Stewart arrived on the scene and found the bloody grey “USA” hat in the trash can followed by the discovery of three bloody paper towels: one inside the trash can, one next to the trash can and one underneath a nearby bench.

Officer Stewart then “checked with Dispatch to see if there had been any medic calls over the last 48 hours in the area of the library and was advised that there had been no reports of anyone injured in, or around that area,” according to the incident report. He proceeded to contact Piedmont Newton where, due to HIPAA regulations, the charge nurse could not release information from the prior shift.

Later on, after the bloody hat and paper towels were collected as evidence by Detective Travis Pierce, it was determined that the items were “relevant to an incident which [they] weren’t aware of so far,” the report stated.

Newton County jury finds Covington man guilty of felony murder
Shane Robinson
Shane Robinson - photo by Courtesy of the Newton County Sheriff's Office

NEWTON COUNTY – On Monday afternoon, 30-year-old Shane Alexander Robinson of Covington was found guilty of killing Charles Edward Stanley III over three years ago.

The Newton County District Attorney’s Office released that a jury deemed that Robinson was guilty on three charges: Felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

On March 5, 2022, sometime between 11 p.m. and midnight, Robinson shot an AR-style firearm at a vehicle that Stanley was driving along Harvey Wood Drive. According to the District Attorney’s release, Robinson fired the weapon 13 times into the vehicle, killing Stanley.

According to a previous report by The Covington News, an arrest warrant stated that Robinson “grabbed his AR-15 (rifle) and drove” from his home to Harvey Wood Drive to “scare” Stanley.

“When Charles was backing up, Shane admitted to firing several rounds at the vehicle,” the 2022 warrant stated. “Furthermore, Shane also initially stated that he fired rounds at the vehicle as it was driving away.”

Robinson initially faced charges of murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, unauthorized discharge of firearms within 50 yards of the public highway, and reckless conduct. It is not clear if some of these charges were dismissed.

Sentencing is set for a later date, which has not been announced. A co-defendant’s case is still pending.