The Murder of D’Angelo White
For this case I watched an episode of The Murder Tapes. It’s season 5 episode 7, titled ‘She Set Me Up.’
A 28 year old man is shot on New Year’s Day.
Background
D’Angelo White
D’Angelo White was described as a caring and loving person. His mom Joyce, said he was also a momma’s boy, and that he’d do anything for his loved ones.
“She Set Me Up”
On January 1, 2018, a man called the Evansville, Indiana police around 7pm. He said a gray Crown Victoria had just run into his house on Washington Avenue. The man said the driver of the car told him he had been shot.
When the police arrived, a man was lying on the ground by his car. He was asked his name, and he said D’Angelo White. In this show, the body cam footage is shown to tell the story. In the footage, the police are heard telling D’Angelo to relax, and D’Angelo is trying to move around while the police are asking him questions.
Inside D’Angelo’s car, the police found a small bag of weed, and they immediately believed it was a drug related crime. The police asked D’Angelo if he knew who shot him. He said no, but that he had been with a female and that she set him up. He repeated it several times, and also told the police that he wanted to go to sleep. The police kept D’Angelo talking, until he was transported to the hospital.
Unfortunately, D’Angelo passed away at the hospital. It was now a homicide investigation.
Getting Some Answers
The police interviewed the homeowner, and asked him what he saw or heard. He said he saw D’Angelo coming towards his house from Bedford Ave. He said D’Angelo looked unconscious at first, until he got out of his car and yelled ‘I got shot.’ The homeowner said he and a few neighbors held D’Angelo down because he tried to move.
It was apparent that the man’s home on Washington Avenue was not the crime scene. The police canvassed the area, and tracked an oil trail from the home to Bedford Avenue. The oil trail had been from D’Angelo’s car.
While the police were searching, they came upon a truck that was running, but had no one inside. The truck had a shattered windshield, and there was an item near one of the tires that the police originally thought was a shell casing. It wasn’t, and the man who owned the truck had nothing to do with the crime. He left his car running because he was leaving, and he needed to defrost it. He also told the police that his windshield had been damaged for awhile.
There was another home that was searched, but this home also had nothing to do with D’Angelo’s murder.
A Robbery Gone Wrong?
The police spoke to D’Angelo’s family. They of course had to ask what D’Angelo’s lifestyle was like. The family revealed that D’Angelo did sell a small amount of weed, but that it was mostly to females.
Search warrants were obtained for D’Angelo’s car and phone. D’Angelo’s car was registered to his cousin Ann. She would later say that she shared the car with D’Angelo, but mostly let him use it whenever.
The other woman that D’Angelo had been in contact with on the night he died was a teenager named Charissa Robinson. She was brought in for questioning. Detective Brent Melton, the lead detective, told Charissa that he didn’t care about the weed, he just needed to know what happened. Charissa said she wasn’t close with D’Angelo, but just wanted to buy weed from him. She said D’Angelo was antsy, and told her that he needed to hurry to get to another deal.
Charissa was free to leave after the interview.
The Autopsy
D’Angelo’s autopsy revealed that he had been shot with a .9mm handgun. He had been shot through his arm, it entered the ribcage and eventually his heart. The wound was consistent with D’Angelo having been shot from the back passenger side of his car. The car also revealed that this was true because the window was shattered.
The case went cold for a few days, until they found a report where a man reported his .9mm stolen. The man said his granddaughter had most likely been the one who had taken it. His granddaughter was Charissa Robinson.
Joyce White contacted the police. She had seen some pictures online of Charissa holding a .9mm gun. Joyce also told the police that the shooter was most likely a man named Derrick Butts. Detective Melton said Charissa was a very good liar, and most likely the girl who set up D’Angelo that night.
The Plot
The police tracked Derrick down, he was in jail for unrelated charges. Derrick lived in the house where D’Angelo was shot. On New Years Day, he was with his girlfriend, Charissa and Charissa’s boyfriend Mykel Blair. Derrick also revealed that Mykel had been the one who shot D’Angelo.
Mykel told him that something was going to go down with D’Angelo that night. Derrick said Mykel went outside, he tried to follow him and heard the gunshot. The police asked Derrick to draw a diagram of how the robbery was supposed to happen.
Derrick’s girlfriend was also questioned. She also revealed that Mykel was the shooter. She said she didn’t know what actually happened because she had been inside the house.
Mykel was located and brought in for questioning. He said Charissa had been the one to get in the car to buy weed from D’Angelo, but that they had planned to rob him. Mykel said he ran up to the car, and said “give me everything,” and shot him. Mykel said he didn’t want to shoot him, but honestly that’s bullshit.
Charissa was taken into custody and brought in for another interview. Charissa revealed that they had planned to rob D’Angelo, and only planned it that day. However, whether it was a slip up or not, she revealed that she had taken her grandfather’s gun as early as December 26. She said she wanted to rob D’Angelo, but didn’t think Mykel would actually shoot him.
Convictions
Mykel Blair pleaded guilty to murder. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Charissa Robinson pleaded guilty to felony murder, attempted robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and theft of a firearm. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Derrick Butts pleaded guilty to robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. Derrick was sentenced to 19 years.
There were two others involved in this case, that The Murder Tapes didn’t talk about. A 20 year old named Noah Coleman and 18 year old named Kyley Vincent were also arrested. Noah had approached the car with Derek and Mykel, and Kyley had helped plan everything. Noah was sentenced to 18 years and Kyley to 20 years.
Kyley Vincent
FINAL THOUGHTS
These people are awful. D’Angelo was literally killed over a bag of weed and about $25 dollars. His future was taken away because these people are greedy and evil. D’Angelo’s last words helped the police solve this murder, and so did Joyce’s information. D’Angelo’s family seems so amazing and loving, and I hope they have peace knowing that these five people are rotting in prison.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/dangelo-whites-murder-where-is-charissa-robinson-now/
https://www.14news.com/story/37576114/epd-murder-victim-was-killed-over-less-than-500-worth-of-pot/
