He shot and wounded a PBSO deputy serving him a warrant. Two years later, a plea closes his case.
WEST PALM BEACH — A suburban Boynton Beach man has received a 25-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to attempted murder charges related to a July 2021 shooting that wounded a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy.
Thomas Robarge pleaded to three counts of the attempted murder of a law-enforcement officer during a hearing Tuesday before Circuit Judge Sarah Willis at the Palm Beach County Courthouse.
Willis imposed concurrent 25-year prison sentences, crediting Robarge with nearly two years of time served — 651 days — as he awaited trial in the Palm Beach County Jail. She also recommended that Robarge, now 62, be housed in a state prison facility for inmates over the age of 60.
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Tear gas deployed after standoff at Boynton Beach apartment
PBSO arrested Robarge on July 28, 2021, after investigators alleged he shot the deputy in a hand and a leg as he attempted to take Robarge into custody. The deputy was part of a team serving him a criminal-mischief warrant for damage to a neighbor's car.
The deputies waited for an hour for Robarge to exit his Indian Spring Country Club residence before knocking on the door and instructing all of its occupants to come out. Robarge's brother exited, but Robarge remained in the home on Fairway Park Drive.
When deputies entered and began to search the home, Robarge started shooting, PBSO said.
Two deputies returned fire but did not hit anyone. During the gunfire, one deputy sustained "through-and-through" wounds to one hand and leg, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at the time.
The deputies retreated and Robarge barricaded himself inside the apartment as PBSO's SWAT and hostage negotiation teams attempted to secure his surrender. The hours-long standoff ended when SWAT deputies deployed tear gas and took Robarge into custody.
Palm Beach County courts granted order taking man's weapons away
In the days after Robarge's arrest, his mother told investigators he had shown signs of paranoia for years but had not been diagnosed with any ailment or condition. She said Robarge was a retired U.S. Postal worker who believed that the agency was after him.
In August 2021, Circuit Judge Charles Burton granted PBSO's petition for a risk-protection order requiring Robarge to surrender his weapons for one year.
Last August, Circuit Judge Kirk Volker extended the order for an additional year.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Judge sentences South Florida man for shooting PBSO deputy
