photo from "Jake Jekyll" myspace.com

Imma Be Down

About me:

“Jake Jekyll im an 18yo whiteboy, ImmA be down ImmA be down ImmA down till im dead in the ground. but im also proud of who i am!!14/88!! got something to say about it send me a message(SeveredTorso)”

In an absolutely nonsensical act, eighteen year old Jacob Robida wreaked havoc on the patrons of a bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts. No one claimed to see it coming. No one thought that Jacob was in trouble. No one believed that he could ever do such a thing. But Jacob was in trouble and Jacob did have it in him.



On Thursday, February 2, 2006, Jacob entered Puzzles Lounge, a gay bar. After showing a phony ID to the bartender Phillip Daggett, Robida asked if this was a gay bar. He drank a Captain Morgan rum on the rocks and ordered another. Dressed all in black, he proceeded toward the back of the room where several people were shooting pool. Alex Taylor had his back to Jacob as the young man pulled a hatchet from the inside of his hooded sweatshirt and buried it in Alex’s back. He then, held Taylor down and gave him another blow to the head.



Pandemonium descended upon the bar where approximately eighteen patrons were enjoying Mariah Carey on the jukebox and being together for a few rounds of brew and pool. As others tried to subdue Jacob, Robert Perry swung a pool stick at him only to have Robida snatch it away as he flailed at Perry hitting him in the back and face with the deadly hatchet. A few patrons tackled Jacob, but he pulled a 9mm and began shooting hitting Perry in the cheek and then in the head. As Luis Rosado came out of the bathroom, he was met with a bullet to the abdomen.



Several people had already called 911 as Jacob drew a bead on the bartender and pulled the trigger. An angel must have been riding on Daggett’s shoulder as all that happened was a “click.” Jacob fled the establishment leaving a trail of blood and trauma behind.


Jaocb Robida lives with his mother who is ill, and siblings. As the police entered his room they found what they termed “Nazi regalia,” as well as anti-Semitic writings on his wall. They had also found what appeared to be a Star of David with a pitchfork pointing to it on the outside wall of the bar.



Further investigation uncovered the fact that Jacob had dropped out of school a couple of years earlier but not before he graduated from the Junior Police Academy in 2001. It wasn’t too surprising that they also found that Jacob had a website at Myspace.com.



Using the name “Jake Jekyll,” Jacob had set up his web presence in slip-shod fashion. However, that presence told an all too familiar tale: “Seig Heil! You are a true comrade

Welcome brother or sister, you have seen the light and are a true comrade...Seig heil 14/88,” reads the welcome.




“Seeing the light,” must not be very illuminating because Jacob Robida failed to see the road he was traveling was one that would only lead to disaster. “Seeing the light,” really didn’t mean much as he wielded his hatchet and his gun. Jacob Robida is but another among so many young people who have been led into the futureless madness of hate and supremacy and now have nothing ahead of them.



Before the blood could dry upon the barroom floor, Bill White was exaggerating the events and saying, “Police are searching for Jacob D. Robida, 18, who is the latest normal American to violently reject the homosexual presence in his community.”



The racist right has never been accused of dealing with reality or a full deck. The many violent acts that have been perpetrated by those indoctrinated with the Nazi ideology are generally forgiven by the members and sometimes applauded. People like Bill White will attempt to explain away these acts of violence while soliciting others to come into the fold.



The real shame in all of this is that the victims and their families will suffer more than we can ever imagine. And young Jacob Robida’s life is over. When he wrote, “I am 75% Metal Head. I was born with the mark of the beast on my forehead and an axe in my arms. I am the god of all things metal! Now if only I could get my parents to give me back my car keys.....,” on his website, I wonder if he knew that the hatred in his heart would take away his future.



Our hearts and prayers go out to all those who have been maimed either physically or emotionally by Jacob’s hate. And our thoughts are with them and their families. When something like this happens we realize that no matter how much headway we make in fighting against this insidious evil, there is so much more to do.