Man convicted for killing player's mother

EVANSVILLE -- A man has been convicted of killing the mother of IU running back Levron Williams hours after she watched him play his final collegiate game.\nJurors deliberated three hours Monday before convicting Steven J. Robbins, 54, of Gary. He could be sentenced to up to 95 years in prison on the murder count. His sentencing is scheduled for July 16.\nBrenda Chevelle Douglas, 37, of Evansville, was shot six times Dec. 1 outside her apartment building. Douglas had watched her son play football that day in Bloomington.\nRobbins acted as his own attorney during the trial, but had his court-appointed lawyer, Christian Lenn, deliver the closing argument.\nAbout 20 minutes after the verdict was read and after conferring with Lenn, Robbins pleaded guilty to being a habitual criminal, admitting he was convicted in Chicago of manslaughter in 1969, of armed violence in 1975 and of murder in 1981.\nRobbins, who lived with Douglas, was arrested several days following her death after an informant told investigators that Robbins had planned to kill Douglas in August because he feared she would turn him in for drug dealing, police said.\nDeputy Prosecutor Jonathan Parkhurst said he did not believe Robbins' attempt to defend his own case worked in the prosecution's favor.\n"I think the evidence was there," he said.\nLenn said Robbins' lack of trained legal counsel allowed two instances in which his criminal record was referred to during the trial.\n"It was the thinnest amount of evidence I've ever seen to convict a person of murder," he said.\nWilliams, who was a first-team All-Big Ten selection last season after rushing for 1,406 yards and falling 66 yards short of the conference rushing title, signed as a rookie free agent last month with the San Diego Chargers.