VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — One of the two brothers accused in a deadly shooting in Virginia Beach has pleaded guilty.
Michael White admitted to first degree murder, robbery, and use of a firearm.
He and his brother, Darrius White, are accused of robbing and shooting at a man and woman at a Harris Teeter gas station back in 2021.
The woman, Annie Smith, died. Her husband told the judge the shooter never gave his wife a chance.
A trial for Darrius White ended in a mistrial last month. It came to an abrupt end when a detective called to testify by the prosecution referred to White as a felon while on the witness stand.
White's attorney immediately filed for a mistrial, saying the remark would sway the jury's decision, and the judge agreed.
In Darrius White's first trial, Steven Smith, the victim's husband, testified on the stand that he watched his wife bleed out in the Harris Teeter gas parking lot.
Smith said the entire robbery happened in a split second. He said he went to the gas station with his wife, Annie Smith, to fill up the couple's car when a masked man approached them with a gun in his hand.
The masked man allegedly said, "Give me everything you got," and Smith said he handed over his wallet and keys.
That is when Smith testified that he walked back to his car, and another masked man followed him to demand even more money from the couple.
Smith said the masked man never waited for a response, and shot three times through the driver's window, killing Annie Smith.
Smith identified the man who killed his wife as Darrius White. Smith said the man who initially robbed the couple was the suspect's brother, Michael White.
A new trial for Darrius White is set for December.
Michael White will be sentenced on September 11, 2023.