Murder charge dropped in death of child
A murder charge has been dismissed against one of five San Antonio men accused in the killing of a 4-year-old boy in 2017.
Police believe the drive-by shooting on the East Side was gang-related and the boy, De'earlvion Whitley, known as “Little Earl,” was an unintended victim.
Todd Anthony Hill, 35, pleaded guilty last week to a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to eight years in prison, online court records indicate. In exchange, the Bexar County District Attorney's Office dismissed murder and deadly conduct charges against him.
A sixth co-defendant in the case last year pleaded to the same lesser charge. Murder charges against four other men are pending.
The shocking death of Little Earl, a happy, lively child who loved to dance, shocked the entire city in the summer of 2017.
Around midnight that July 19, a group of men fired 65 bullets from a vehicle at the home in the 200 block of Hub Avenue where he was playing with his 7-year-old brother, according to police reports.
Little Earl was shot in the head, and his mother, Cyntwanishsa Whitley, sustained two gunshot wounds to her legs. She survived.
Police made several arrests in the months following the shooting, and developed the cases with the help of state and federal agencies.
In June 2020, a grand jury indicted Hill, Terrell Anthony Chase, and Quentin Travonne Phillips, in the child's death. Each was charged with murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm and deadly conduct.
All three have extensive criminal records, including drug and assault charges. Chase, 30, and Phillips, 31, are awaiting trial.
Shortly after, warrants were issued for two more men on charges of murder and deadly conduct related to the boy's death: Michael Davonte Woodard, now 28, and John Chatmon, 40. Their trials are set for April.
Another man, Dakota Peppers, 32, was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with the crime, but not in the child's death. He was sentenced to six years in prison in April 2022, according to court records.