HANOVER COUNTY, Va. — Hanover General District Court Judge Angela O'Connor denied bond for the man charged in a deadly double shooting in the parking lot of an Ashland shopping center.
The shooting happened at the Ashland Square shopping center on Hill Carter Parkway around 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, near the Walmart and Dollar Tree stores, according to Ashland Police.
Officials said 24-year-old Unique White, of Bowling Green, was arrested at the scene and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a scheduled drug.
Arrest warrants obtained by CBS 6 revealed the victims as James Smith and Laith Green. Crime Insider sources said Smith is White’s half-brother.
At a bond hearing Thursday morning, White’s defense attorney asked the judge for a “reasonable secured bond” with GPS monitoring citing his lack of criminal record and strong ties to Central Virginia. He said his client was not a flight risk and lives with his girlfriend.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney said they have strong video and eyewitness evidence that shows White pulling the trigger during a fistfight.
The prosecution showed the judge social media posts on White’s account that they said depicted the defendant holding the same gun allegedly used in the shooting.
Judge O’Connor told White “you are a danger at this time” before she denied his bond motion.
White is being held without bond at the Pamunkey Regional Jail and is due back in court on these charges on July 9.
Seven members of White’s family were in the courtroom and hopeful he would be released.
“We just want Unique to come home. He needs to be home and hopefully that will happen soon. Sooner than later,” said William Johnson. “It’s tragedy all around, but I won’t speak on the content of it. But Unique needs to come home and get the justice he deserves. He is a good boy and doesn’t deserve to be locked up.”
Ashland detectives continue to investigate the case. Crime Insider sources say detectives believe a dispute over a woman escalated from a physical altercation to gunfire in the busy shopping parking lot.
"Three boys in the parking lot, fighting over a girl," a witness said at the scene. "It started as a fistfight. I know all three of them. I was standing by myself, and then I heard the gunshots so I ran back to my car and one of the other girls was screaming for help, screaming for help, and the boy was in the car bleeding from his side and on his arm."
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
