BATON ROUGE — A mistrial was declared in the case of Michael Robinson, a man accused of fatally shooting Dexter Cormier, 35, and five others outside a Baton Rouge after-hours nightclub along Greenwell Springs Road in October 2024.

On Friday, after deliberating for several hours, a mistrial was declared for the second-degree murder charge Robinson was facing for the alleged shooting. However, the jury did find Robinson guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. 

The trial, which began more than a week ago, saw several delays when a judge ruled that the state prosecutor could not use surveillance footage of the shooting as evidence; defense lawyers argued it was given to them too late. That matter ultimately went to the state Supreme Court, which overturned the ruling on Thursday, allowing the evidence to be shown.

The defense spent much of Friday cross-examining the Baton Rouge Police Department's lead investigator. Robinson's lawyers pressed the investigator about how BRPD tied Robinson to the shooting, asking about the crime scene, guns recovered that night and the absence of DNA results linking Robinson to a weapon. 

The detective testified that statements from Robinson and surveillance footage put him at the center of the shooting.

During closing statements, the defense argued that the investigation was not complete, and claimed that there were three different types of shell casings at the scene that were never tested for DNA.

Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life term.