Milan teens arrested for double homicide

Troy A. “Tuman” Whitmore II, via Facebook

Milan teens arrested for double homicide

By Logan Watson

Two Milan teens are facing multiple First Degree Murder charges after a gang-related shooting last Tuesday night.
Antonio Turner and Justice Walton, 17-year-old students at Milan High School, were arrested last week and charged with the murders of Deairrious D. “DeDe” Young, 20, and Troy A. “Tuman” Whitmore II, 19.
The names of the two juveniles were not released by the Milan Police Department, but identified through other sources.
According to police reports, the Milan Police Department received a “shots fired” call at the Meadows of Milan apartment complex at 9:27 p.m. on September 26. When officers arrived, they found Young and Whitmore lying on the ground outside one of the buildings. Young was pronounced dead at the scene. Whitmore reportedly had a faint pulse and was transported to the Milan Emergency Room where he died a short time later.
According to Police Chief Bobby Sellers, a second shooting took place shortly after Young and Whitmore were killed.
Roughly one hour after the shooting, officers were processing the crime scene when they heard gunfire in the distance. Chief Sellers stated that the shots came from Ellis Street, where one man was hit.
“The man that was hit was the grandfather of one of the suspects,” said Chief Sellers. “They shot his house with a .223, and from the sounds we were hearing, it appeared to be a fully-automatic rifle. We recovered 30 rounds that had been shot into that house.” Sellers went on to state that the man was transported to the Milan E.R. with minor injuries. “What we believe happened is one of the bullets that struck him was not a full, intact bullet. It had hit something inside the house and caused a piece of the bullet to break off and hit him in the ankle.”
Sellers stated that the MPD received more calls throughout the night from the same area and heard the shots themselves, but no one reported any injuries or damaged property.
Chief Sellers revealed that tips from the public led to the development of one of the teens as a suspect. One of the victims had been in a verbal altercation earlier that day with Turner, who confessed to firing shots at the two victims after being interrogated by investigators. Turner also provided police with the identity of Walton, who also shot at the victims.

Deairrious D. “DeDe” Young, via Facebook

Walton was arrested last Thursday morning at MHS, where a witness said he was led out of the school in handcuffs. Chief Sellers stated that Walton would also be facing two charges of First Degree Murder.
“We think these two guys hid and ambushed the two victims as they came up to the apartment,” Chief Sellers said. Investigators are currently piecing together a motive for the killing, but Sellers stated that the shooting might have been retaliation for a robbery or an incident earlier that day. Sellers also noted that the drive-by shooting on Ellis Street was not random. “We don’t have any proof, but the word on the street is that a rival gang, thinking that [Walton] might have been at the house, shot it up.”
Due to the severity of the crime and the fact that both Turner and Walton are 17 years old, Chief Sellers stated that he would advise the District Attorney to try both Turner and Walton as adults.
“For the next few weeks, there will be a lot of police on the streets in the affected neighborhoods,” said Chief Sellers. “The Gibson County Sheriff’s Department is sending deputies here, the West Tennessee Violent Crime and Drug Task Force will have agents here and Milan police officers will be working a lot of overtime.”
Chief Sellers stated that while he was not aware of any outstanding criminal offenses in either Young’s or Whitmore’s past, both the shooters and the victims had ties to two local gangs, the Hoover Crips and the Gangster Disciples.
Chief Sellers also said that his department has plans to work with the Villas, Marshall Gardens and the Meadows to make sure that their residents, as well as the rest of the community, can feel safe when they let their children go outside and play. A long-term solution that involves a police substation in the area could also be in the works.
“We don’t have a lot of crime here, but when we do have something like a murder or a double homicide, it really shocks the community,” said Chief Sellers. “But the citizens need to understand is that Milan is still a safe town. This isn’t something that happens routinely.”

Two Milan teens are facing multiple First Degree Murder charges after a gang-related shooting last Tuesday night.
Antonio Turner and Justice Walton, 17-year-old students at Milan High School, were arrested last week and charged with the murders of Deairrious D. Young, 20, and Troy A. Whitmore II, 19.
The names of the two juveniles were not released by the Milan Police Department, but identified through other sources.
According to police reports, the Milan Police Department received a “shots fired” call at the Meadows of Milan apartment complex at 9:27 p.m. on September 26. When officers arrived, they found Young and Whitmore lying on the ground outside one of the buildings. Young was pronounced dead at the scene. Whitmore reportedly had a faint pulse and was transported to the Milan Emergency Room where he died a short time later.
According to Police Chief Bobby Sellers, a second shooting took place shortly after Young and Whitmore were killed.
Roughly one hour after the shooting, officers were processing the crime scene when they heard gunfire in the distance. Chief Sellers stated that the shots came from Ellis Street, where one man was hit.
“The man that was hit was the grandfather of one of the suspects,” said Chief Sellers. “They shot his house with a .223, and from the sounds we were hearing, it appeared to be a fully-automatic rifle. We recovered 30 rounds that had been shot into that house.” Sellers went on to state that the man was transported to the Milan E.R. with minor injuries. “What we believe happened is one of the bullets that struck him was not a full, intact bullet. It had hit something inside the house and caused a piece of the bullet to break off and hit him in the ankle.”
Sellers stated that the MPD received more calls throughout the night from the same area and heard the shots themselves, but no one reported any injuries or damaged property.
Chief Sellers revealed that tips from the public led to the development of one of the teens as a suspect. One of the victims had been in a verbal altercation earlier that day with Turner, who confessed to firing shots at the two victims after being interrogated by investigators. Turner also provided police with the identity of Walton, who also shot at the victims.
Walton was arrested last Thursday morning at MHS, where a witness said he was led out of the school in handcuffs. Chief Sellers stated that Walton would also be facing two charges of First Degree Murder.
“We think these two guys hid and ambushed the two victims as they came up to the apartment,” Chief Sellers said. Investigators are currently piecing together a motive for the killing, but Sellers stated that the shooting might have been retaliation for a robbery or an incident earlier that day. Sellers also noted that the drive-by shooting on Ellis Street was not random. “We don’t have any proof, but the word on the street is that a rival gang, thinking that [Walton] might have been at the house, shot it up.”
Due to the severity of the crime and the fact that both Turner and Walton are 17 years old, Chief Sellers stated that he would advise the District Attorney to try both Turner and Walton as adults.
“For the next few weeks, there will be a lot of police on the streets in the affected neighborhoods,” said Chief Sellers. “The Gibson County Sheriff’s Department is sending deputies here, the West Tennessee Violent Crime and Drug Task Force will have agents here and Milan police officers will be working a lot of overtime.”
Chief Sellers stated that while he was not aware of any outstanding criminal offenses in either Young’s or Whitmore’s past, both the shooters and the victims had ties to two local gangs, the Hoover Crips and the Gangster Disciples.
Chief Sellers also said that his department has plans to work with the Villas, Marshall Gardens and the Meadows to make sure that their residents, as well as the rest of the community, can feel safe when they let their children go outside and play. A long-term solution that involves a police substation in the area could also be in the works.
“We don’t have a lot of crime here, but when we do have something like a murder or a double homicide, it really shocks the community,” said Chief Sellers. “But the citizens need to understand is that Milan is still a safe town. This isn’t something that happens routinely.”

The Meadows of Milan apartment complex.