Harris County Murder Suspect in Terribia Dembry Case Released, Now Fugitive

Johna Robinson posted a $75,000 bond on a firearms charge and was released from Harris County custody in the early hours of Friday, hours before a murder charge tied to the death of 52-year-old Terribia Dembry appeared on the Harris County District Clerk site at 4:15 a.m. A warrant was issued after the clerk filing and Houston police are actively seeking Robinson, who is currently not in custody.

Records and reporting show Dembry was shot Tuesday at a Willowbrook-area apartment complex; at least one local outlet also linked the incident to Grant Road. Roughly three hours after the shooting, Robinson was stopped in a traffic stop, arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Charging documents cited by media indicate investigators were eyeing Robinson and listed his vehicle as a suspect vehicle.

Robinson faced a $75,000 bond on the firearms count, which records show was posted on Thursday. Harris County Sheriff’s Office confirmations reported his release after bonding out; published times differ in HCSO statements, with one report listing release at 1:05 a.m. Friday and another at 1:55 a.m. Friday. That timing conflicts with HPD statements to reporters that a murder charge had been filed Thursday night and with the county clerk's public filing timestamp at 4:15 a.m. Friday. The District Clerk record shows the formal filing at 4:15 a.m., and a warrant followed that entry.

Houston police and prosecutors have offered differing timelines to explain the sequence. KPRC reporting noted investigators did not have what they called definitive evidence linking Robinson until Thursday evening and said accepted charges can require hours of paperwork before formal filing. The District Attorney’s office has said paperwork processing after charge acceptance can take hours. HPD told Eyewitness News that a murder charge was filed around 9 p.m. Thursday while Robinson was still in custody; the clerk records show the charge as filed at 4:15 a.m. Friday.

Robinson’s criminal history is documented in public records cited by reporting: a federal drug trafficking conviction in Florida in 2003 and another federal drug trafficking conviction in Houston in 2022. After a 2024 prison release he was placed on five years’ probation that would have extended to 2029; a federal judge terminated that probation three years early at Robinson’s request one week before the homicide.

Family members of Terribia Dembry said they learned of Robinson’s release from media and expressed devastation. Dembry’s family called her a “big teddy bear” with a big heart; a sister told reporters, “They dropped the ball.” Andy Kahan of Crime Stoppers of Houston said he was “shocked” to learn Robinson was wanted and back on the streets. Criminal defense analyst Brice Wice called the sequence “an unforced error” and said, “This is simply the left hand not telling the right hand what's going on.” Wice also noted, “Law enforcement can hold those individuals if they can show that the individual does not need to be in the free world unless and until that investigation is complete.”

Key records remain necessary to reconcile the discrepancies: HCSO bond and release transaction logs with timestamps, the Harris County District Clerk docket and filing instrument, and HPD CAD and arrest reports showing the exact times and locations of the shooting and the traffic stop. Until those records are produced and agencies explain why bond was allowed while homicide investigators were alleging Robinson’s vehicle was a suspect, the case will raise operational and procedural questions as HPD continues to search for the man now wanted on a murder warrant.