A guy from South Carolina has entered a guilty plea to the charge of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of a law enforcement officer in western Virginia in the year 2021.
Following the Kingsport Times-News, Michael Donivan White, 36, of Cross, South Carolina, entered his plea on Thursday in Wise County Circuit Court on the revised charge that is connected to the killing of Big Stone Gap Officer Michael Chandler. On the evening of November 13, 2021, Chandler, who was 29 years old at the time, tragically passed away after being shot while responding to a call well beyond the Big Stone Gap borders. There was an arrest made of White in Tennessee.
Brett Hall, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Wise County, stated that White initially faced thirteen charges, including aggravated murder of a police officer and felony murder. However, White agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder provided the prosecution agreed to consider a sentence of forty to one hundred years rather than a life sentence. According to Hall, Big Stone Gap Police Chief Steve Hamm and members of Chandler’s family, including his widow Natasha Chandler, were briefed by the prosecution.
In the case of the federal charges that White was facing in connection with Chandler’s death, Hall’s office and federal prosecutors are currently working together to coordinate a similar plea arrangement.
Tuesday, August 21 is the day when White is due to be sentenced.