VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A man has been convicted in connection to the murder of a woman at a gas station at the Haywood Shopping Center in December 2021.
On Tuesday, The Commonwealth's Attorney of Virginia Beach released a statement announcing that 24-year-old Darrius White of Chesapeake was found guilty by a jury on charges of aggravated murder, 2 counts of robbery causing death and 3 counts of use of a firearm.
Prosecutors said Darrius White committed the robbery with his brother, on December 13, 2021. Annie Smith and her husband visited family, ran some errands and stopped for gas near their home at the Harris Teeter in the Haygood Shopping Center. While Smith's husband pumped gas, brothers Michael and Darrius White pulled in.
The encounter led to Darrius and Michael demanding property from the couple, and then Darrius White shot Annie Smith three times in the chest. The Whites fled the scene.
The car the Whites were driving was a vehicle they had stolen earlier that day in Chesapeake. Police had a description of the suspects and the car used in the murder. Shortly after, the vehicle's owner spotted them driving his stolen car. They fled and police found Michael White's fingerprints all over the car.
Darrius White's trial had previously been declared a mistrial in May of this year. He's set to be sentenced on February 15, 2024.
Michael White pled guilty to charges of first-degree murder, robbery causing death, use of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He's set to be sentenced on Thursday, December 14.
