NORFOLK, Va. — A man was sentenced to 12 years in prison in connection to a 7-Eleven double shooting on Thursday.
This conviction comes after Jalen Savion White- Kennedy, 25, pleaded guilty to malicious wounding, using a firearm in the commission of malicious wounding and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
On May 11, 2023, White-Kennedy and Walter Eugene Painter went into the 7-Eleven on 26th Street and Hampton Boulevard. They both recognized the clerk. White-Kennedy took out a gun and started shooting at the clerk. The clerk took cover behind an aisle and started shooting back at White-Kennedy.
The clerk and Painter were both shot. Painter was transported to Sentara Hospital where he later died.
White-Kennedy fled the scene but was later identified as the shooter by the clerk and witnesses. Norfolk Police arrested him on July 6.
He was on probation for prior offenses at the time of the May shooting. On March 5, Judge Lannetti revoked three years and 10 months of previously suspended sentences that White-Kennedy will now have to serve for those prior convictions.
“Mr. White-Kennedy nearly killed the victim in this case, and we are lucky that he did not,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Mr. White-Kennedy created a dangerous situation for anyone at that store. Good police work and high-quality video helped us hold Mr. White-Kennedy accountable, and his sentence will protect the community from further acts of violence. We will continue to hold accountable the people who shoot in our community.”
