Coach Shoot Suspect Had A Temper

A man accused of shooting his son's high school football coach in the chest had been barred from the school after several earlier confrontations, including "shoving and verbally abusing" coaches, authorities said.

Jeffrey Doyle Robertson, 45 — who has a tattoo on his arm of cartoon character Yosemite Sam brandishing two guns with the words "Born to Raise Hell" — went to the school just after classes started Thursday and shot coach Gary Joe Kinne, apparently with a .45-caliber pistol, police said.

He was caught about 20 miles east of Canton, reports Jay Gormley on CBS affiliate KTVT. Arresting officers say he slashed both wrists and stabbed himself in the leg. He had two guns and a pocket knife with him.

The coach, who also is the school's athletic director, was airlifted to a hospital in nearby Tyler, and a family spokesman said he was in critical condition but stable condition Friday.

Robertson was charged with aggravated assault Friday. He appeared haggard but calm in court.

Echols said Robertson had been barred from Canton High and told not to attend football games after several confrontations, including "shoving and verbally abusing" coaches at the annual football picnic.

Police were investigating a possible motive. On Wednesday, Robertson's son, Baron, had apparently been banned from playing all school athletics, said Steve Smith Jr., a senior who was a defensive end and kicker on the team.

Smith said Robertson at a football game had accused him of teasing his son.
"Basically he grabbed my shirt pushed me up against the fence and threatened that he would take my whole family's life for something that I didn't do," the teen said on CBS News' The Early Show.

"That's when my son called me at the house and said, 'Dad, please come to the stadium just as soon as you can. Some guy is threatening my life,'" Smith's father told co-anchor Julie Chen.

The elder Smith said the school's vice principal and police were involved in the incident, but Robertson was never charged.

Echols and Canton school district Superintendent Larry Davis said they were unaware of any previous threats.

Some parents had been upset that Kinne had made his own son the starting quarterback as a freshman, Smith Sr. said. G.J. Kinne was the AP 3A all-state honorable mention quarterback last season.

Rhonda Miller, a cousin of Robertson's wife, was among the relatives gathered outside the jail Thursday night to help support Robertson's wife and son.

Miller said she didn't want Robertson portrayed as "a lunatic" because he wasn't the only one frustrated with the school's athletic program.

"A lot of parents are upset. This is not a single incident, and if they don't take care of it, it could escalate," she said, declining to elaborate.

Robertson worked for six years for Dallas Plumbing Co., leaving in 2002 to start his own business with another man. Company President John Downs described Robertson as a good employee and a devoted father who enjoyed taking his son hunting and fishing.

The last time Downs saw Robertson was about six months ago, when Robertson had a broken leg, bruises and abrasions from a road-rage-related fight on the side of a highway, he said.

"The last conversation that I had with him was that he really needed to learn how to control his temper or he was going to get hurt worse than that," Downs said.

Canton is a town of about 3,500 some 60 miles east of Dallas, and is known for holding a massive flea market each month.