De'ondre White found guilty of murder in 2021 Sixth Street shooting

De'ondre White was found guilty of murder on Wednesday night in a shooting that left one person dead and 14 others injured on Sixth Street in Austin in 2021. The jury deliberated for more than four hours before reaching its verdict.

The shooting killed Douglas Kantor, a 25-year-old tourist visiting Austin from New York. His mother, Julia Kantor sobbed quietly after the verdict was read while another one of her sons, Nicholas Kantor, hugged her. Kantor's family has attended every day of the trial.

A woman who has identified herself as White's mother wiped away her tears with a tissue after the verdict was read. White showed no emotion after the verdict and was led quietly away by deputies.

He faces between five to 99 years in prison. The sentencing phase of the trial will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday.

White testified earlier on Wednesday that he fired his gun on a crowded downtown Austin street because he saw someone who had been arguing with one of his friends begin to pull a weapon out of their pants.

The jury began deliberations at about 4:40 p.m. Wednesday after hearing closing arguments on the sixth day of the trial in the 450th District courtroom of Judge Brad Urrutia.

White, a 21-year-old Killeen resident, was charged in the death of Douglas Kantor, a 25-year-old bystander who was shot twice on Sixth Street in the early morning hours of June 12, 2021. More than a dozen other people were injured in what was the worst mass casualty event the city had seen in nearly a decade.

White faces up to 99 years on the murder charge and up to 20 years on an aggravated assault charge.

Taking the witness stand as the only defense witness, White told the jury in a calm voice that he decided to testify because "I feel like everyone deserves to hear the truth," including the victim's family.

White said he fired his gun eight times after someone he did not know, later identified as Tyshawn Degrate, got into a fight on Sixth Street with Jeremiah Tabb, one of White's friends.

White said Degrate and his two friends initially passed White and his buddies on Sixth Street just staring at them but not saying anything. White said Tabb told him that Degrate and his two friends were members of a gang in Killeen.

He said Degrate and his friends walked by a second time and continued staring. Tabb said to them, "What the (expletive) are y'all looking at?" White said. Tabb also said, "Do you want to fight or something?" according to White.

Degrate didn't answer at first, but then he and Tabb began to bicker, said White. He said he couldn't hear what they were saying.

He testified that before the argument he saw Degrate pull a ski mask over his face. White also said one of Degrate's friends had a bag that could have been used to carry a gun.

White said he also saw that Degrate was carrying a gun because Degrate's pants were sagging and the weapon was showing where Degrate had it tucked in his underwear. White said he started shooting at Degrate when he saw Degrate in the process of pulling the gun out of his pants.

"When you shot that gun, who were you trying to protect?" asked defense attorney Russell Hunt.

"The people I came with," said White.

"What was your belief about what was going to happen if you didn't shoot the gun?" Hunt asked. "That he was going to shoot us," White answered.

During cross-examination, prosecutor Habon Mohamed told White that no other witnesses had testified that they saw Degrate's gun.

"They were lying," White said.

Mohamed also asked White how he could see Degrate pull a ski mask over his face because White wasn't wearing the glasses he usually wears and there were hundreds of people in the street. She said Degrate was several feet from White when he pulled down his ski mask, according to a video shown in court.

During the cross-examination, Mohamed said White had wiped his cellphone clean by doing a factory reset, dyed his hair and initially refused to come out of a house in Killeen when police tried to arrest him.

More: Witness testifies De'ondre White dyed hair after fatal shooting in downtown Austin

White said Degrate pulled down his ski mask twice and when he did it the second time he was closer to White. White also said he started running after the shooting.

"Why didn't you come out in the SWAT call?" Mohamed asked White. "I was just scared," said White.

Mohamed asked if he agreed that all his actions since running away from the shooting were contrary to those of someone who claimed to have acted in self-defense.

"What do you mean?' asked White. "I would say I was just scared. I'd never been in a predicament like that before."

White also testified that he lied to police in his initial interview by saying he wasn't involved in the shooting.

"I didn't want to go to jail, and I didn't want to be blamed for all of this," he said. "I knew deep down in my mind it was because of me."

Mohamed asked White why he didn't just leave Sixth Street after he saw Degrate starting to pull out a gun.

"Where would I go?" said White.

"To your car," said Mohamed.

"It wasn't my car," White answered.

"You didn't really want to leave," Mohamed said to White. "You really wanted to get into some kind of trouble and show these young boys what you were made of."

"No ma'am," White responded.

In his closing argument, Hunt said White was defending himself.

“The evidence shows that De’Ondre was faced with a terrible choice,” said Hunt. “He made the only choice he could, which was to protect himself and his friends.” Hunt said Degrate meant to intimidate White and his friends by pulling on a ski mask.

Degrate along with two friends, Hunt said, were the ones who initiated the conflict by approaching White and his friends, including Tabb. A witness said Degrate wanted to confront Tabb because Degrate had a previous problem with him, Hunt said.

He said that several witnesses, including White, saw Degrate grabbing for a gun he was carrying when White fired shots. Hunt said White made a reasonable choice to fire even though Degrate hadn’t pulled out his gun.

“Does the guy have to pull a gun out and stick it in your face and pull the trigger before you are authorized to defend yourself?” Hunt asked.

In her closing argument, Mohamed disagreed. She said Degrate didn't approach White's group but was beckoned over to it by Tabb. She said Tabb also was carrying a gun but didn't choose to use it, even though he and Degrate were arguing and Tabb was standing the closest to Degrate among White's friends. White was standing behind Tabb, said Mohamed.

She said Tabb testified to the jury that he thought about pulling out his gun but didn't because "there were too many people on Sixth Street that night."

Mohamed also said that when White found out after the shooting that Kantor had died, White told his friends to delete their group text messages. "If he didn't do anything wrong, why did he do that?" the prosecutor asked jurors. White also lied to his friends in a text message right after the shooting, saying he didn't shoot anybody, Mohamed said.

"Today he takes the stand and tells the jury 'I've lied so much before, but today I want you to believe me,'" she said.

More: Expert links casings found on Sixth Street to De'ondre White's gun used in mass shooting

Investigators have said they found eight casings that matched a Glock gun that White fired in front of the Mooseknuckle Pub on Sixth Street.

A police detective testified Tuesday that White posted photos of the Glock handgun on social media before the shooting. Detective Israel Pina said the gun in one of the photos had two chips on it from being dropped or damaged that matched the chips police found on a Glock in the house where White was staying when he was arrested.

Pina testified again on Wednesday and said that police knew Degrate did not fire his gun on Sixth Street because police could not find any marks on the wall where the shots would have been fired.

Hunt asked Pina why police didn't do any tests for gunshot residue on the hands of Degrate or Tabb, who also were carrying a weapon during the shooting. Pina told Hunt that police had overlooked the test.

Mohammed then questioned Pina about the gunshot residue test, and Pina said that the Department of Public Safety's recommendation was that the test be done within four hours of the shooting. Police were not able to interview the people who were carrying guns on Sixth Street within four hours of the shooting, Pina said.

More: Witness testifies De'ondre White dyed hair after fatal shooting in downtown Austin

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: De'ondre White found guilty of murder in 2021 Sixth Street shooting