Robbins reinstated after criminal charges dropped

Backup defensive back Lamar Robbins returned to school and the football team after involvement in an on-campus shooting last fall.

The incident followed the team’s 45-24 victory against Syracuse on Oct. 10 when offensive lineman Benjamin Knox fired two shots using a .45-caliber handgun at the west side of the Holly D residence hall around 4 a.m. While nobody was injured, the shots did leave damage to the side of the building.

Robbins was originally identified by University Police (UP) as a participant in the shooting, but UP later determined there were two separate shootings just minutes apart. According to search warrants filed in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, Robbins fired the gun in the Crescent Hill parking garage before Knox shot at least twice at Holly D.

UP found a box of ammunition and an open gun case inside Knox’s car in the parking garage before finding Knox inside his Holly D dorm room with the gun.

Knox, a freshman, faced felony charges of discharging or possessing a firearm on university property and shooting into an occupied dwelling.

Robbins, a junior, was charged with a second-degree felony, discharging a firearm on campus and providing false information to a law enforcement officer by lying about his involvement in the shootings.

Both were indefinitely suspended from the USF football program, and Knox left the school while Robbins was still enrolled. Knox has reportedly transferred to Independence (Kan.) Community College.

Robbins went before the Student Rights and Responsibilities Board, which took no action, and the criminal charges against him were dropped, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He didn’t play the remainder of the 2015 season but also didn’t miss class time and wasn’t suspended from school.

According to the Times, he’s back at practice as of Saturday.

"He's back on the team," Bulls coach Willie Taggart said after Saturday's practice. "He's just like all the other guys. He handled his business, took care of his consequences and now we're moving on and getting better and learning from our mistakes."