A judge sentenced Don Demichie Page Jr. to 14 years in prison Thursday for the June 2013 shooting death of Quentin Lavar White.
Page pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed in October.
During a victim impact statement, White’s widow said that Page had a relationship with White and he took more than one life that night.
“This wasn’t a stranger who shot him,” Brittani White told the court. “He knew him and I feel like when he killed one person, he took three lives.” She added that she has two sons that won’t ever see their father again.
At 12:45 a.m. police responded to a shooting in the 3500 block of East Capitol Street Southeast and found White suffering from a gunshot wound. He died at a hospital 35 minutes later. He was 28.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Bradford told the court that she had become familiar with Page while investigating the December 2012 death of Angelo Alphonso Payne. She said that Page had a great reputation in the community and this case took her by surprise.
“I was shocked,” Bradford said.
Bradford argued that a neighborhood brawl initially started as a fist fight between White’s friends and Page’s friends. It began once someone yelled “Free Khari,” Bradford said. At the time, it was alleged that Khari Williams had murdered Payne, according to Bradford.
“This should have stayed a fist fight, but Page went and got a gun and made the decision to take White’s life,” Bradford said.
Defense attorney Brandi Harden agreed with the government that “this did start out as a fist fight,” but argued that Page was attempting to break up the fight, and wanted to scare White and his friends away. Page felt like they were “getting the best of his friend,” Hardin said.
Page asked the White family to forgive him as he addressed the court: “It might be impossible, but I do ask for forgiveness.”
