VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — One of two brothers accused in a deadly shooting in Virginia Beach two years ago was sentenced Thursday to 50 years in prison.
Michael White's sentencing comes after he pleaded guilty in June to charges of first-degree murder, robbery causing death, the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The shooting happened on Dec. 13, 2021, at the Harris Teeter in the Haygood Shopping Center, leaving Annie Smith dead. On Tuesday, his brother, Darrius White, was also convicted for his role in the shooting.
The Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said that on the day of the shooting, Annie Smith and her husband visited family, ran some errands and stopped for gas at the Harris Teeter. While Smith's husband pumped gas, Michael and Darrius White pulled in.
According to Steven Smith's testimony, Michael approached Steven with a gun asking for “everything you got.”
Steven complied but told prosecutors Michael’s brother Darrius followed him to the car asking for more. That’s when he shot Annie three times, killing her. It was later revealed Annie had a gun of her own in self-defense.
The brothers fled the scene.
Ultimately, the judge sentenced Michael to 50 years in prison, saying "this case is just awful."
"I think more relief that he got the maximum outcome because obviously, they are a hurting family. This is one day past the two year anniversary and this is a horrible time to drum up all of these memories," said Brandon Emery with the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney in Virginia Beach. "This was a just outcome for this case because it’s not only about rectifying what happened to Annie, but keeping the community safe."
During the sentencing Thursday, details about another murder the brothers allegedly committed just a day after Darrius killed Annie came to light. A Chesapeake police detective revealed the White brothers followed a women outside of a Chesapeake Family Dollar on December 14th. A fact shown on security footage played in court Thursday.
Under sworn testimony, the detective said they robbed Pamela Schwartz and Darrius shot her three times with the gun they stole from Annie Smith the night before. Chesapeake Police said they found Schwartz’s body three days later outside of a home that was not hers.
The night of the 14th, the brothers then allegedly called police saying they were homicidal and suicidal. They went to the hospital, where both the prosecutors and detective said police saw blood on their clothes that also appeared in the Harris Teeter security video. Investigators had also gotten fingerprints back from that crime.
Both men confessed to police they killed Annie Smith. Neither one contests that Darrius is the one that pulled the trigger.
The car the Whites were driving was a vehicle they had stolen earlier December 13th 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.
During Thursday's sentencing for Michael White, his mother revealed he and Darrius grew up separately and only saw each other on holidays. About a month before these murders, Darrius came to live with Michael. Although Michael is older, his mother said Darrius always acted like the big brother.
Their mother and Michael's attorney both said Michael is intellectually disabled and only wanted to please people, so that's why he followed in what his brother did.
Michael's attorney also said in an interview with police, Michael told them he wanted to tell Schwartz to run, but was scared his brother would "off him."
For Steven Smith and his family, he said they are still dealing with the pain of losing Annie.
"The pain doesn't just go away," he said from the stand. "We keep coming back to court and restarting the healing process."
He called losing his wife a "tremendous emotional upheaval."