De'Ondre White murder trial: First APD interview shown to jury
AUSTIN, Texas - During day five of witness testimony in the murder trial of De'Ondre White, his first interview with police was shown to the jury.
White is the suspected gunman in the 2021 mass shooting on Sixth Street that killed Doug Kantor and injured 14 others.
The police interview happened nine days after the mass shooting in 2021. In it, White recalls what he claims happened to Austin Police homicide detective Israel Pena.
White claims Jeremiah Tabb got into it with another group of kids on Sixth Street when shots were fired. White says he did not see the shooter and does not say it was him. When the detective pushed White for more information, White continued to deny involvement and claimed he did not have a gun on him that night.
After just over an hour, White ended the police interview.
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The state presented expert witness testimony that claimed White’s DNA was found on his gun which was the same gun a DPS firearms examiner testified he tied back to the mass shooting in 2021.
The state is trying to prove to the jury White shot 15 people on Sixth Street in 2021 intentionally. The defense claims it was self-defense because he was trying to protect himself and his friends from a gang member threatening them with a gun.
Tabb testified and told the jury White claimed self-defense right after the shooting to their friends. For that, Tabb appreciates White for protecting them. Tabb claims Tyshawn Degrate was reaching for his pants, and he believes he was going for a gun tucked in his waistband.
Tabb says he thinks about the shooting regularly because he believes if he did not start the altercation with the other Killeen group, none of this would have happened.
Once the friend group saw the news and how many people got shot, Tabb says White started talking about changing his appearance.
Tabb was arrested by APD at first because police thought he was the suspected gunman. He was then released and charged with tampering of evidence after he tried to sell the gun in the shooting used on Instagram. The state revealed Tabb’s truthful testimony in this trial could result in those charges being dropped.
Witness testimony will continue Wednesday morning with the possibility of closing arguments in the afternoon.