A Lincoln County contractor could be facing serious criminal charges after allegedly beating a man, threatening him with a shovel, taking his phone and coercing him into signing over a truck and equipment during a daylong shakedown over an alleged debt.
Lincoln County Sheriff's Deputy Kale McGee outline the allegations in a 12-page affidavit filed Friday and made available Tuesday, seeking charges of aggravated blackmail and battery against Thomas John Robinson.
The investigation began May 12 after the alleged victim’s mother called 911 from Afton, reporting her son had been held against his will and was covered in blood, wrote McGee.
The sheriff's deputy arrived to find the man wearing a white shirt stained with dried blood. McGee wrote that he also had dried blood near his nose and fresh bruising on his face.
'He Popped Me’
The man claims Robinson arrived at his Thayne-area home around 10 a.m. demanding repayment from a failed equipment deal.
He told investigators that he did owe Robinson money, but said he couldn't immediately pay him, and that Robinson could not simply take vehicles and equipment as payment because they did not belong to him.
He said he "originally owed Robinson $30,000, but Robinson kept bumping the price up.”
The alleged victim said that Robinson then grabbed him by his sweatshirt collar, threw him to the ground and climbed on top of him, wrote McGee.
"He popped me,” the man told investigators, later reported pain in his ribs, face, and mouth.
Next, he said Robinson loaded up a trailer and skid steer onto the man's truck and hauled him to a property on Rock Farm Road outside Etna.
Threats And A Shovel
Once at the property, the man told investigators that the confrontation escalated, according to the affidavit.
He said Robinson began videotaping him and humiliating him while accusing him of fraud.
In a video taken by a witness, Robinson tells the man, "I honestly can't believe there's people like you around in this world,” the affidavit says. "Every one of us as a god — civilization and a community.
"Every one of us that's a normal mother f***er that goes and works for their money needs to come together and f***ing catch people like you and string you up and flog you daily."
In the video, Robinson calls the man a "piece of shit" multiple times, wrote McGee. "Like I said, I got him by the balls. I got him right by the balls; he just forfeited his truck and equipment to me and agreed to do so."
The man claimed Robinson threatened to hit him in the back of the head with a shovel and "bury him,” and also told him that he would come after him if he went to the cops.
Robinson also allegedly threatened to burn down the man's house with his children inside and to "take him out of the community," again referencing striking him with a shovel, according to the affidavit.
Robinson Tells A Different Story
Robinson acknowledged to the sheriff’s office that he confronted the other man over money, but described the encounter very differently.
According to McGee, Robinson told investigators he had been trying for months to recover money he believed was owed to him.
Robinson said he discovered the man had recently acquired a truck, trailer and skid steer despite owing him money.
McGee wrote that Robinson told investigators the man voluntarily drove the equipment to Robinson's property and later agreed to sign over his truck and equipment as collateral against the debt.
Robinson denied bloodying the man, telling investigators that he told him he was free to leave and ultimately agreed to work off the debt.
McGee wrote that Robinson produced six invoices totaling $43,589.16 and documents allegedly signed by the man transferring the truck as collateral.
Before investigators arrived at the property to talk to Robinson, they learned that he had an active warrant out to Idaho with full extradition.
When they told Robinson there was a warrant for his arrest out of Fremont County, Idaho, Robinson began "using vulgar language and became agitated," wrote McGee. "He refused to let me place him in handcuffs behind his back and told me that he had shoulder issues.”
He was ultimately placed in handcuffs and taken to the Lincoln County Detention Center, but according to the sheriff's department, he is no longer there.
Court records in Fremont County, Idaho, show Robinson had been facing a felony DUI charge there.
However, a plea agreement was filed May 28 and the case has been remanded to a lower court, according to a Fremont County District Court clerk. The clerk said the felony charge has been reduced to a misdemeanor and Robinson is expected to enter a plea in the lower court.
Robinson is not being held in custody in Idaho.
Cowboy State Daily reached out to Fremont County prosecutors about whether Robinson may face any additional charges in Idaho and had not received a response by publication time.
Witnesses
Several witnesses interviewed by investigators support portions of the alleged victim's account.
Investigators also reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby Maverik that showed the victim later in the day kneeling on gravel with a cloth pressed against his nose while Robinson spoke on the phone about alleged fraud accusations.
A notary told investigators she notarized paperwork signed by Robinson and the man later that day.
The notary told investigators she sensed tension between the men and had received a text message from the witness who made the video beforehand, one of Robinson's employees, that said, "It's getting intense.”
McGee wrote that he asked the notary if the alleged victim "looked like he was willing to sign these papers," and she said, "Hmm, I mean, he signed.”
She said he put his driver's license down on the table, and she didn't log anything in her notary book with the state because she "just has to make sure the signature matches the signature on the paper.”
Lincoln County Attorney Ember Oakley did not return a request by publication time for clarification about Robinson's pending charges in Wyoming.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
