Trial set for Detroit man who allegedly shot, killed Eastpointe man

EASTPOINTE — The case of a Detroit man who allegedly killed a 38-year-old Eastpointe man on his birthday in the basement of his Ridgecroft Avenue home will head to trial later this year.

At a pretrial hearing held June 23, a trial date was set for Danny Darnell White, 32, of Detroit.

A final pretrial hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Oct. 20, and a jury trial is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Nov. 1 in front of Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Matthew Sabaugh.

According to court records, a June 8 hearing was adjourned by White’s attorney, Stephanie Carson, for plea negotiations. When asked if the setting of a trial date meant negotiations had ended, Carson said that wasn’t “entirely accurate.”

White was arrested Sept. 30 at a home in Detroit.

Eastpointe Public Safety Director George Rouhib said at the time that White knew the victim but that they were not related.

“Robbery was not the motive,” Rouhib said last fall. “There was some type of altercation that took place in the basement area. We don’t know what the altercation was about. It definitely wasn’t a robbery.

“We  have video that shows he was the only one at the house at the time. He (the victim) was shot several times, and then he (White) left right after,” Rouhib said.

The victim was found by his ex-girlfriend, who arrived at the home near Stephens Road and Interstate 94 with his children and a cake to celebrate his birthday. They discovered the body at about 1:20 p.m. Sept. 29. Court records list the date of the crime as Sept. 28.

White is facing charges of first-degree murder, firearms possession by a felon and two felony firearms charges.

If found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, White faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.