DALLAS – There are still questions swirling about the con man who was fatally shot by Dallas police a week ago.
Diamon Robinson, who was pretending to be Mike King, worked his way into police and political circles. He hired real police officers to work for him and was hired to provide security for Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.
Robinson was fatally shot last week during a standoff with police who were serving a warrant for impersonating an officer.
Questions Remain
What we don’t know:
It’s still not clear how Robinson was able to clear background checks and get so close to lawmakers and law enforcement officers.
He had a criminal history that included arrests for theft and fraud. But while working as King, he ran a sham company that provided security services.
Diamon Robinson (May 2017 Dallas County mugshot)
What they’re saying:
Attorney Calvin D. Johnson represented Robinson in a fraud case years ago. He saw his former client’s picture on FOX 4 after getting a call from a bail bond company employee.
“And I looked up, and I said, ‘Oh my God, that’s Diamon,’” he said. “What I took away from him was he was a very smooth guy, very friendly. If you met him, you would not know that he had ever been in trouble, that he’d ever been to prison. He seemed to be very accommodating, very nice, very smart, very well-dressed, very mannered, just very, very agreeable. Somebody that you would meet and you would say, ‘You know, he seems like a good guy. I can trust him.’”
But that trust is likely what put Robinson in prominent positions, including his security detail work for Crockett.
“It does not surprise me that, in this particular situation, he had started the company and actually had fooled or gotten past background checks to show that he could actually work with somebody like Jasmine Crockett. I know her personally. She’s a great person. She gives people opportunities. But I know for a fact that she did not know this man was Diamon Robinson. She knew him only as Mike King,” Johnson said.
Congressional Security
What we know:
In a statement issued Monday, Crockett said her team followed all protocols set by the House to contract additional security.
“We were approved to use this vendor who also provided security services for additional entities in the local community and also worked closely with law enforcement agencies, including Capital Police,” she said.
Following the killing and wounding of state lawmakers in Minnesota, and the Charlie Kirk assassination, Congress established a security budget for members to contract for personal security while in their districts and away from Capitol Hill.
Members select the person or group to provide that extra security and then submit the expenditure through the House administration system.
It’s recommended that they consult the district security services center before hiring a security provider and coordinate with the House Sergeant at Arms law enforcement coordinator program. But those are just recommendations, not requirements.
What we don’t know:
The House has a vetting process, but it’s still not clear how Robinson and his company made it through that process.
Crockett’s statement mentioned that he’d been around her team for years, but it did not provide any details on how she came to know him.
The Source: FOX 4’s Shaun Rabb gathered information for this story by talking to Diamon Robinson’s former defense attorney. Other details come from Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett’s office, the Dallas Police Department, police sources, and past news coverage.