AUSTIN, Texas — De’ondre White, who was convicted of murder on Wednesday night for his role in a mass shooting on Sixth Street in 2021, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by a jury.
The jury came to a unanimous decision on White's sentence Thursday night.
After several hours of deliberation, White was found guilty of murder late Wednesday night. White was convicted of shooting and killing 25-year-old Doug Kantor and injuring 13 others on Sixth Street in 2021.
“Our office is committed to holding people who commit acts of gun violence accountable,” Travis County District Attorney José Garza said in response to Thursday's sentencing. “In a split second, the lives of 15 people were changed forever by a senseless act of gun violence. We hope this verdict and sentence brings closure and peace to the victims and their families.”
“The reality of this case is that, in a matter of 10 to 15 seconds, Mr. White forever changed the lives of 15 people,” Habon Mohamed, the state’s attorney, said during closing arguments of sentencing.
During closing arguments for sentencing, the state argued the jury should consider at least 40 years for White due to the additional 14 counts of aggravated assault.
“Mr. White didn’t just commit a murder,” Mohamed said. “He also committed 14 separate offenses, aggravated assault for each of those 14 people that he shot, and that is something [to] consider when you are deciding his punishment.”
The defense argued the opposite, saying that the jury should start deliberations considering the minimum punishment, five years.
“What we would ask is that you not wad his life up like a paper tissue and throw it away in the trash and send him to the penitentiary for 30 years because his life is worthless and he’s so dangerous. He’s not that dangerous,” said defense attorney Russ Hunt, who argued that White is a good person who made an unfortunate decision.
Before closing arguments for sentencing, the jury got to hear from several victims of the shooting who recalled that fateful night and how their lives have been forever changed since then. Among them was Julia Kantor, Doug Kantor's mother.
With tears in her eyes, Julia Kantor described what her life has been like since her son's death, saying that she hasn’t been able to sleep and keeps the TV on to keep the noise and nightmares out of her head.
She also talked about how her husband Joe Kantor, Doug’s father, breaks down every time their son's name is mentioned, which was evident in court. Every time Doug Kantor’s name was brought up, his father buried his head in his hands, sobbing.
“He can’t talk about Doug without falling apart. When you mention Doug, he has to walk out the room. He can’t stay,” Julia Kantor said during her testimony.
Doug Kantor’s fiancée at the time of his death, Adrianna, also attended the trial. She was emotional when Julia Kantor took the stand and described how her would be daughter-in-law has been doing since the loss of her fiancée.
“She’s become very quiet, very to herself, doesn’t go anywhere. I think she stopped talking to a lot of friends,” Julia Kantor said.
On the other side of the aisle, the jury got to hear from Ruth Collins, White’s aunt and primary caretaker since he was 6 years old. On the stand, she apologized to the Kantor family saying, “I’m sorry he got caught up in it … He just got caught up the wrong place at the wrong time.”
She also apologized for all of their suffering.
“I’m sorry for my loss, your loss,” Collins said.
Another mother affected by the shooting, Thelma Ramirez, also testified on Thursday. Her daughter, Jessica Ramirez, was paralyzed and will never walk again because of the shooting.
Thelma Ramirez detailed how difficult life has been in the past two years and how her daughter told her “she'd prefer to be dead than the way she is now, paralyzed.”