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Teen charged as adult in death of former Paulding athlete

Darnell Isaiah Priester (Credit: Paulding County Sheriff's Office)
Darnell Isaiah Priester (Credit: Paulding County Sheriff's Office)
By Ellen Eldridge
Aug 24, 2017

A 16-year-old is being held without bond in connection with the shooting death of a former Paulding County athlete, officials said Thursday.

Darnell Isaiah Priester was booked into the Rome Youth Detention Center on charges of murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery, Paulding County sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ashley Henson said.

Tommy Lee Robinson (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)
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Priester is accused of killing 18-year-old Tommy Lee Robinson, who had just left a football game at Paulding County High School when he was shot to death Aug. 18 at the Ivy Trace subdivision, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.

Priester is facing the charges as an adult, Henson said.

MORE: Recent high school graduate, athlete killed after fight

Timothy Nelson, 18, was shot in the leg and treated at WellStar Paulding Hospital, Henson said.

Police said the teens were part of two different groups that were fighting, but the incident wasn’t gang related.

Robinson was a recent high school graduate who planned to attend college.

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