UPDATE 3/13/25:
White pled guilty to an amended charge of 1st degree murder in a Wise County Circuit Court on Thursday. Now, White is facing over 100 years in both state and federal prison.
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We will update you with more information as it becomes available.
UPDATE 2/21/25:
Michael White pled guilty to 8 counts in relation to the murder of Officer Chandler on Friday.
“Today in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, Michael White was sentenced to spend the next 100 years of his life in federal prison for murdering Big Stone Gap Police Officer Michael Chandler. No matter how righteous our prosecution was or how just this sentence is, no amount of jail time can bring back Officer Chandler. Our only hope is that today’s sentence brings some level of closure to Officer Chandler’s friends and family, the Big Stone Gap Police Department, and the Southwest Virginia law enforcement community. To all of the men and women who worked tirelessly to bring Michael White and his co-conspirators to justice, the Department of Justice is eternally grateful.”
Acting United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee
White was found guilty on the following charges:
- one count of causing the death of a person using a firearm, in which the killing was first-degree murder, in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
- one count of conspiring to distribute or possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine
- one count of possessing with the intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine
- one count of using a place for the purpose of distributing or using a controlled substance
- one count of using a communication facility in committing any felony-controlled substance offense
- one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
- one count of possession of a stolen firearm
- one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and using, brandishing and discharging that firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
White was sentenced to 100 years in federal prison.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The man charged with Big Stone Gap Officer Michael Chandler appeared in court on Tuesday morning.
Michael Donivan White, of Cross, South Carolina, appeared by video from the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Abingdon.
He is accused of shooting Big Stone Gap Police Officer Michael Chandler early in the morning on Saturday, Nov. 13. Chandler died later that night from his injuries.
[Hundreds show up for fallen officer’s processional from Roanoke to Big Stone Gap]
White’s court appearance followed his indictment on Monday by a special grand jury in Wise County.
White is facing 13 charges in connection with Chandler’s death:
- Aggravated murder
- Felony murder
- Possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance with the intent to distribute
- Possession of a firearm while in possession of a Schedule I or II controlled substance
- Shooting in the commission of possession of Schedule I or II controlled substance with the intent to distribute
- Shooting in the commission of murder
- Use of a firearm in the commission of committing aggravated murder
- Possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony
- Possession of ammunition by convicted of a felony
- Brandish a firearm
- Reckless handling of a firearm with serious injury
- Discharge a firearm in a public place
- Disorderly conduct
White received a court-appointed attorney as part of the hearing and his trial is scheduled to begin on April 11, 2022.
