Sheriff's department renews plea for public help in finding Fallbrook musician's killers

It's been more than five years since musician and guitar shop employee Larry Robinson of Fallbrook was fatally beaten during a robbery in Old Town Temecula, but the case has not been forgotten by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, which continues to search for Robinson's killers.

"Somebody knows something, or heard something," Riverside County sheriff's Lt. Michael Hatfield said during a news conference in Temecula last week. "No matter how insignificant you might think it might be, it might be the very piece of information we need to help solve this heinous crime."

Hatfield was joined by other members of the sheriff's department as well as city officials Tuesday, May 1, in the Temecula City Council Chambers, where the descriptions of two people of interest were provided. Investigators received information about the two in 2015.

One was described as a white man in his 20s who was about 5-foot 10-inches tall with a thin build and dark hair. He had facial hair and possible tattoos on both arms.

The other was described as an Asian man in his 20s who was also about 5-feet 10-inches tall. At the time, he had spiked red hair with blonde tips and colorful tattoos on both arms.

Hatfield said that anyone with information was encouraged to contact the Central Homicide Unit by calling (951) 955-2777.

Robinson was found bound and badly beaten March 22, 2013, inside of Pete's Music near Old Town Temecula after authorities responded to a suspicious circumstance call. He died at a hospital the following day.

The brutal killing spurred gatherings and marches. The Temecula City Council approved a $25,000 reward for information either leading to the arrest or conviction of a suspect in Robinson's death. That reward, set to expire this year, was extended during a recent city council meeting.

"Temecula strives to be one of the safest cities in the United States and it's incidents like these that erode our confidence in our ability to maintain that safety," Temecula Mayor Matt Rahn said during the news conference. "Five years is a long time for this to go unsolved and we're hoping that in that time folks find it in their heart to come forward with information that can help our folks solve this case."

Sgt. Chris Willison of the sheriff's department also read a statement from Robinson's widow, Pat, imploring people with information to come forward.

"The Robinson family would like to thank the city of Temecula for extending the reward," according to her statement. "We're hopeful this leads us to justice. After five years, it is difficult to believe that the people responsible for robbing Larry of his life are still free and remain unaccountable."

Outside of the the city council chambers Tuesday, Pat Robinson held a blue, heart-shaped balloon with the messages "Justice for Larry," and "Forever in our Hearts." She's had the balloon since the first anniversary of Robinson's death and occasionally fills it.

"When this case is solved, I'm going to let this balloon free... Hopefully I'll get to do that soon," she said.

Alex Groves can be reached by email at [email protected].