History of assault emerges after shooting

An armed man shot by Houston police officers Friday night after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend had two brushes with the law for abusing her in the past, court records show.

Charges were pending Saturday against 34-year-old Paul Robinson in connection with an officer-involved shooting in the East Little York neighborhood that left him hospitalized in critical condition. He will likely face charges of aggravated assault of a police officer and being a felon in possession of a weapon.

Authorities were called around 7 p.m. to a home in the 11000 block of Spottswood Drive after Robinson is said to have assaulted his girlfriend. Officers found him in the backyard holding a semi-automatic weapon to his neck, police said.

Robinson then retreated to a shed and requested that the woman he attacked come to the backyard to see him and that officers kill him, police said.

Five officers opened fire when Robinson aimed his weapon at them. He was shot more than once and was airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital.

The woman involved in the

Friday night encounter was not identified, but Chief Art Acevedo said Robinson had “very aggressively” assaulted her last October and that a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

The injuries — which included severe eye swelling and a bloodied mouth — were so severe police had to hear what happened from the woman’s 15-year-old daughter, who witnessed the attack and called 911, according to charging papers.

The teen had heard her mother fighting with Robinson and saw him storm out of the house. He returned soon after and punched the woman “several times with closed fists,” a Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy detailed in his report.

The girl cried for him to stop but he would not. She hid in her bedroom, locked the door and waited for police to come, the report stated.

The woman — described in the report as Robinson’s commonlaw wife — confirmed that Robinson was the one who assaulted her by nodding her head when she was shown his mug shot.

A warrant was issued for his arrest and prosecutors argued that he should not receive a bond, citing that the woman had requested an emergency protective order.

Robinson pleaded guilty in April 2019 to assaulting the woman during a September 2018 incident in which he tried strangling her.

He was sentenced to one year in the Harris County Jail but had already served at least 200 days of that sentence, according to records.

Robinson has had three prior felony arrests since 2008 for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, evading arrest with a motor vehicle, and drug possession.