Middletown teen charged in gang murder gets new attorney

A Middletown teen awaiting trial for allegedly shooting another teen to death in gang-related violence has a new attorney.

Gonnii White, now 17, was indicted in September by a Butler County grand jury for murder with the specifications that he used a firearm and was participating in a gang at the time of the shooting death of Joesph Davis, 17, near the corner of Woodlawn Avenue and Garfield Street during the late-night hours of May 29.

MORE: Teen suspect in Middletown fatal shooting has criminal past that includes gun charges

The indictment came a month after the teen’s case was bound over to Butler County Common Pleas Court by Juvenile Court Judge Kathleen Romans.

White, who is being held in lieu of a $750,000 bond, has been represented by court-appointed attorney Jeremy Evans, but last month Butler County Common Pleas Judge Noah Powers II granted the attorney’s request to withdraw from the case.

In the request to withdraw, Evans said he had represented a material witness in prosecuting White on several occasions.

“As such it is the position of counsel that an inherent conflict has arisen,” Evans wrote in the motion.

On Dec. 17, attorney Timothy Upton was appointed as White’s new attorney. White is scheduled to be back in court Jan. 22 for a pre-trial hearing. A trial date has not been set, according to court documents.

Middletown Police Detective Kristi Hughes, who was at the fatal shooting scene, testified during a previous hearing that Davis was shot four times in the neck, thigh, shoulder and buttocks.

During questioning, Hughes said White admitted to shooting Davis.

MORE: Teen to be tried as an adult for fatal gang shooting 

“He (White) did state he was the one who shot Mr. Davis,” Hughes said. “He stated when he saw Mr. Davis, he thought he was reaching for a gun and began shooting.”

Hughes testified that she is trained in the investigation of gangs. She said she was able to determine White is a regional member of a Crips gang called the Roadrunners.

White’s Facebook page and his cellphone contained images of him making gang signs and wearing blue (the Crips color) as well as Crips quotes and the Crips prayer, Hughes said.

Davis was a member of a rival gang, the Bloods, according to the detective.

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