After hearing from nearly two dozen witnesses, a Kingfisher County grand jury chose not to return any indictments in a case that resulted in the 2020 shooting death of Christopher Robinson.

“The grand jury returned no indictments during this session,” it was written in a report that is part of the record in the case.

“The grand jury has concluded that there is no reason to believe there is other evidence that needs to be produced for their consideration, including no additional witnesses to be called.”

Robinson, 33, died after being shot by Benjamin Millis during an incident near Hennessey on May 9, 2020.

It took place about 1.5 miles north of State Highway 51 on Cemetery Road at the residence of Trevor Gritz.

There was also a rollover accident after the shooting about two miles north of Hennessey on U.S. Highway 81 involving Millis that then-Sheriff Dennis Banther told the KT&FP he felt was related to the shooting.

After a months-long investigation conducted by the Kingfisher County Sheriff’s Office, Millis, who claimed self defense in the incident, was not charged.

The grand jury was empaneled after a successful petition launched by James Everett Jones and Lindsey Jones of Hennessey. They filed a petition in Kingfisher County District Court May 9 on behalf of “Citizen Residents of the County of Kingfisher, State of Oklahoma, Petitioning for an Order Directing a Grand Jury Be Convened.”

Petition organizers were able to collect 942 valid signatures, about 160 more than needed to prompt the order for the grand jury.

The grand jury met Sept. 17 through Sept. 19 and, according to the report submitted, “issued 34 subpoenas, received the testimony of 23 witnesses and 7 exhibits.”

The report also stated the time allotted in the session didn’t allow it to complete a report of the matters heard.

That formal written report will be completed when it next convenes at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 23.

Banther, who has since retired as sheriff, told the KT&FP that several findings in the investigation contradicted some of the statements made in a petition that was filed and ultimately led to the convening of the grand jury.

He was among the witnesses who testified in front of the grand jury.

“The grand jury convened and took testimony from many witnesses. In the end, they came up with the same decision that District Attorney Mike Fields made,” Banther said.

Fields was the DA at the time of the incident and investigation and has also since retired.

“This entire incident is a tragedy,” Banther continued. “One that I’m certain of: I will never understand why people act as they do. If anyone would have simply called law enforcement rather than take the law into their own hands, all of this could have been avoided.”