Wareham man found not guilty of 2019 murder charge

WAREHAM – A Wareham man was found not guilty on murder and assault and battery by dangerous weapon charges in connection with a fatal 2019 stabbing following a jury trial in Plymouth County Superior Court last week.

David Robbins, who was held without bail since his arrest in November 2019, had been charged following an early morning confrontation that ended in the death of 33-year-old Yves Roux Jr., also of Wareham.

According to the police report, at approximately 4:55 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6, Wareham Police Dept. received a 911 call for a report of a stabbing in the area of 184 Main St. Upon arrival, officers located a vehicle with obvious damage and the male victim outside bleeding from a stab wound. The victim, who was Roux, was taken to Tobey Hospital in Wareham before being medflighted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where he was pronounced dead on Nov. 8.

According to the subsequent state police investigation, Roux and Robbins were separately traveling along Main Street in Wareham, making their way to work. Robbins was traveling in a blue pickup truck and Roux in a sedan. As part of their investigation, through eyewitness accounts, video surveillance and a dashboard camera that had previously been installed inside the victim’s vehicle, detectives developed information that a traffic confrontation ensued between Robbins and Roux prior to the stabbing. Roux was parked behind Robbins at an intersection when Robbins stopped his pickup truck in the road. Roux exited his sedan and approached Robbins’s truck. The men, who did not know one another, exchanged words before Robbins stabbed Roux once in the arm. Bleeding profusely, Roux returned to his vehicle, performed a U-turn and headed in the other direction on Main Street. His vehicle drifted into several parked cars on the side of the street before coming to a stop. A bystander called 911 at that time. The wound to an artery in his armpit proved fatal to Roux.

Plymouth County District Attorney Communications Director Beth Stone said, “Mr. Roux’s life was tragically taken as a result of the events that unfolded in the early morning hours on Nov. 6, 2019. David Robbins was indicted by a grand jury on a murder charge and we moved forward with the case against him. This was a lengthy trial where jurors deliberated over days. While we are disappointed with the verdict, we respect the work and attention that jurors put into this trial.”

The jury began deliberations last Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., stayed out all day Thursday, and rendered the verdict last Friday at 10 a.m.

Attorney John Amabile of Brockton represented Robbins. He said, “David Robbins was completely innocent of the charges. That’s the bottom line. He acted in self defense.”

He added, “It was a travesty that the court wouldn’t grant him bail, and that the DA’s office wouldn’t agree to bail.”

He said the 67-year-old was a homeowner and a mechanic.

“He spent two years in the Plymouth County House of Correction, which basically dovetailed with the pandemic. He went in in November 2019.”

He said the jail “is a petri dish for infection. It was very scary. But Dave Robbins is a very brave individual.”

His wife died while he was in jail, about six weeks ago. Amabile said Robbins never saw his wife again after his arrest because visits were not allowed due to COVID. They talked on the phone.

“This was a tragic event. No one would say any different, the fact that Yves Roux lost his life. That’s a very sad thing.”

He said Robbins never intended to kill anybody, and administered one blow that was aimed for the arm but struck an artery in Roux’s armpit.