I-TEAM: Tyrique Robinson case | Dead men tell no tales in probate

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The parents of Tyrique Robinson faced their son’s former mentor and business partner for the first time since his death more than a year ago.

Melissa Oden publicly accused Robinson of stealing a quarter of a million dollars a few days after he became the youngest person ever elected to the Richmond County Board of Education.

Robinson died the day after denying the allegations.

Oden never went to law enforcement with allegations, but did go to probate a month after Robinson’s death.

Senior Investigative Reporter Liz Owens takes us inside the courtroom where dead men tell no tales.

Probate cases do not usually draw the same public attention as criminal cases in superior court. But the probate court is where we go during life’s happiest and saddest moments.

Kim Gowdy, Robinson’s mother, went to probate after his death to file as of his estate. It was only then that she learned the same woman who accused their son of stealing also filed for his estate.

In court, Randy Frails walked past the family of Robinson. Frails’ client, Oden, followed behind with her son and hairdresser.

Both parties were in the same room together for the first time since Robinson’s death – on what would have been his 22nd birthday.

Judge: “OK, I am going to call the case involving the deceased Tyrique Robinson. As I understand it, the pleadings in the case we have two competing petitions for istration.”

Gowdy filed as heir, Oden as a creditor.

Georgia code requires Judge Harry James to make an appointment that will best serve the interest of the estate.

READ ODEN’S PETITION:

Frails: “We believe evidence will show as Mr. Robinson was employed with Dream Transportation for Ms. Oden, he engaged in fraud.”

The opening statement sounds more like an opening statement made during a criminal case in superior court than a hearing about an estate in probate court.

But this wasn’t an ordinary estate hearing, either.

Frails: “She filed this petition as a creditor. Your honor, we believe the evidence will show over the course of business with Mr. Robinson, Mr. Robinson incurred debts through various means.”

Initially, Oden publicly accused Robinson of stealing a quarter of a million dollars.

She ed the media, including the I-TEAM. She called for his resignation after he just became the youngest person ever elected to the Richmond County Board of Education.

Robinson defended himself on Austin Rhodes’ radio show.

Rhodes: “Basically, what we are being told is a lady that has been serving as your mentor for a number of years and invested heavily in your business is accusing you of stealing money from her not only to run the business but apparently spending some of the company money on campaign expenditures. What do you say about that?”

Robinson: “Well, first all, the allegations that she has put out there are false.”

Robinson died the day after going onto Rhodes’ show.

DEATH OF A POLITICIAN | PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Tyrique Robinson mystery deepens
• A look at the death of the youngest politician
• A deeper look into death of young local politician
• Backdoor dealings and dirty politics
• Family finds deceit in Cherokee

Oden met Robinson through his godmother, her hairdresser – the same hairdresser in court with her.

Oden and Robinson opened Dream Transportation, a trucking business, a few weeks after meeting each other.

Oden said Robinson was listed as 20% owner of the business because he had his commercial driver’s license, and his responsibility was to drive the semi-trailer.

Frails: “Was he capable of driving?”

Oden: “No, he was not.”

Gowdy: “He created a lot of things for the company even to secure drivers. I’ve witnessed him on phone calls with the drivers when they’ve had problems with the truck. He was doing the bids and loads for the company.”

Robinson’s age kept him from utilizing his commercial driver’s license from the National Guard.

But emails and text messages his mother’s testimony about his role with Dream Transportation.

Going over card charges in court …

Frails: “We see a charge for Azalea Outdoor for $1,620.”

Oden: “Correct.”

Frails: “And that was on Oct. 13. Did you authorize it at all?”

Oden: “Not at all.”

Oden claims one of the fraudulent charges on her card was for a billboard ad Robinson purchased during his campaign.

Emails show the person sending designs to the billboard company was not Robinson, but Melanie Taylor, the hairdresser in court with Oden. Taylor forwarded the email exchange between herself and the billboard company to Robinson, showing the bill came to her, not him.

Robinson made a Facebook post after the billboard went up, thanking Taylor.

Her name is also listed on Robinson’s campaign disclosure report – as treasurer.

Frails: “You have a wire for $50,000, and what was the purpose of that wire?”

Oden: “The wire was to purchase a Sprinter van for transportation for the company.”

Oden and Robisnon revamped the company after problems with the semi-truck.

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They moved away from freight and began promoting Dream Transportation as a luxury transport business.

Oden: “The bill of sale there is no title to it at this time … instead of corporation, the bill of sale ended up in the name of Mr. Robinson.”

Oden’s petition for states it should have gone under the name of the company, not Dream Transportation, but instead The Place at Shadow Oaks – the name of one of Oden’s nursing homes.

Text messages show Robinson consulted with a lawyer about the title – the same lawyer representing Oden in court for his estate.

Frails also represents the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, the agency that investigated Robinson’s death and ruled it a suicide.

Frails: “Let’s deal with the elephant in the room. There has been rumor and context you and this young man were dating.”

Oden: “Not at all. He stated he called me his auntie.”

Photos and text messages reveal her relationship with the 20-year-old was more than business partners.

One text shows him sending her instructions to disarm his security system at his apartment – the same apartment where his brother would later find him dead.

Gowdy: “He was taken on trips with Ms. Oden – received money from her on a regular basis. Some refer to him as her ‘Boy Toy.’”

Oden: “I will never conduct myself in that type of manner. I am not that type of person.”

Her ex-boyfriend suspected there was more to the relationship than just business. Enough so, he flew from Texas to Cherokee, N.C., to confront the two at a casino. Police charged the ex with assaulting Robinson and Oden, but the district attorney later dropped the case. Oden recanted her statements after Robinson died and told Cherokee police that Robinson, not the ex, was the aggressor.

Just last month, Oden called police on the same ex after flying out to visit him in Texas.

WATCH THE RULING:

Oden to dispatcher: “If he could go back to that address – the person said he was going to leave my stuff outside – he threatened my life and safety, so I can’t go back and get it.”

The police report lists the call as kidnapping/held against will, but police did not arrest or charge Lanzy Meeks, the ex-boyfriend.

Meeks ed the I-TEAM a few days after the incident. He told us he feared Oden was trying to set him up. He says the two got into a fight after he went through her phone and found a text message concerning Robinson.

Attorney Matthew Padgett represented the family.

Padgett: “Ultimately, my folks are trying to get resolution to their child they lost too young under extremely and unfortunate and very public circumstances due to how it came out. Ultimately, my folks want to be named put all this to bed and I think they have the right to be named as to the state of their son.”

Georgia code instructs probate judges to consider appointing an heir as over a creditor.

Judge Harry James did neither. He appointed a third-party after ordering the only real asset of value to be turned over.

Judge: “There was no conflicting evidence. Mr. Robinson through trickery and fraud did defraud the company – looks like 21 thousand, over 23 thousand dollars.”

The order states Robinson voluntarily relinquished his shares of the company to Oden, who retains 100% of the company. The 2015 Mercedes van is the sole property of Oden, therefore she is entitled to immediate possession, the order states.

Documents from the South Carolina Secretary of State’s Office show otherwise.

We obtained the articles of incorporation for Dream Transporation shortly after Robinson’s death. The documents do not show Oden as 100% owner as stated in the judge’s order but instead show 40% with her son, godson and Robinson each holding 20% of the ownership.

The order continues:

“The decedent through deceitful practices embezzled a total of $23,000 (twenty-three thousand) dollars from Ms. Oden and the company by falsifying invoices and charging personal items to her credit card without her permission which makes her a bona-fide creditor of the decedent’s estate.”

READ THE ORDER:

Oden never went to the sheriff’s office with the criminal allegations against Robinson. Law enforcement never had the opportunity to investigate.

Instead, Oden brought her allegations to a court without the authority to hear criminal complaints.

But the only court with jurisdiction of a dead man’s estate.

Frails, Oden and Taylor did not respond to the paper trail we uncovered our investigation.

In November, voters will make a decision at the polls on the next probate judge in Richmond County.

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