ASHLAND, Va. — A 24-year-old man is charged with two counts of first-degree murder following a double homicide near a Walmart in Ashland earlier this month.
Unique White is accused of killing his half-brother, James Smith, and another man.
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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.
James Smith was previously convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection to a teen's death at a party in Hanover County in 2024.
"He took a plea deal for involuntary manslaughter, and he did a year and seven months," said Kelsey Thurston, James Smith's stepmother. "He was home five months before this happened."
"And he said that he did want to take that because he did not leave here with ill will to do any harm with anybody that night," said Aubrey Smith, James Smith's father.
Questions remain regarding the charges against White.
"We've seen the videos that are out, and from what I can tell, his brother wasn't the one that pulled the trigger for James," Thurston said. "The two girls that were there, they've said that James, he didn't own a gun, he didn't have a gun, he had no access to a gun, and they've said that he was shot first, and in return, Unique shot the other guy."
The violence has left at least three families devastated by split-second decisions.
"The younger generation, I don't know why we always have to result to picking up guns," Thurston said. "In my generation, we were raised to fight with your hands, and if you lost, you lost.
"We'd be friends the next day," Aubrey Smith said.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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