Thurman Atkinson shot a look at Aahric Whitehead’s family before asking Lake Superior Court Judge Samuel Cappas to “please not take (his) life away before it begins.”
Atkinson, who was convicted in May of voluntary manslaughter and two counts of criminal recklessness, told a packed courtroom Thursday morning that he “is not a thug” but a “child of God” raised by good people. He offered everyone affected by Whitehead’s death an apology and said he acted out of fear.
Cappas then gave Atkinson, now 20 of St. John, 23 years on the voluntary manslaughter conviction. He received two three-year sentences on the criminal recklessness charges, but it will amount to three years as the shorter sentences will be served concurrently. The judge was unmoved by Atkinson’s plea.
“You asked me to ‘please not take your life away before it begins, but I didn’t do that: You did when you pulled that gun out and fired a rifle six times,” Cappas said. “I’m not doing anything. You got yourself caught in the judicial system.
“At the age of 16, there’s a question of development that sees boys break their arms riding their skateboards and other dumb things, but you do have a sense of morality, and you know it’s wrong to carry a gun. I’m going to ask the same question I always do: ‘Why? Why are kids running around with guns and shooting each other?’ It’s a shame.”
Whitehead’s mother, Yvette Whitehead, spoke for nearly an hour about her son’s accomplishments and the pain she and her family have gone through in her victim impact statement. She told the Post-Tribune that her heart still breaks for the friends her son was with who saw him get shot that night.
“It’s a struggle for them, too. They didn’t deserve it,” Yvette Whitehead said. “I’m glad (Cappas) saw the truth.”
Whitehead, 20, of Merrillville, died June 1, 2022, from six gunshots to his face and head in a parking lot in the 7200 block of Taft Street, court records state. Deputy Prosecutor Chris Bruno maintained during the hearing that Atkinson intentionally shot and former co-defendant Daniel Oloyede, then 18, “had a plan” to rob Whitehead of the gun he was going to sell to Oloyede, who was Whitehead’s former teammate.
Atkinson’s attorney Scott King reiterated that the fact that one of the other victims recanted his statement, which caused Oloyede to have his charges dismissed, shows it couldn’t have been a set-up.
“In fact, if the defense hadn’t called Oloyede, no one would’ve ever heard what happened,” King said. “Arguments are one thing, but the facts are another, and you better have them.”
Witnesses, according to court records, told police that Whitehead arrived in the parking lot in a blue Ford Fusion with two passengers. A short time later, Oloyede pulled up in a Toyota and parked to the left of him, court records show, the Post-Tribune previously reported.
Whitehead got out of the Ford, took a gun box out of his trunk and told his passengers he planned to sell it for his uncle, according to a probable cause affidavit. Whitehead then got in the passenger’s side of the Toyota, at which point witnesses saw a second person sit up in the backseat, records said.
Whitehead went back to his car to grab his phone, but then he handed a second handgun to one of the passengers and told him to “Watch them,” records said. When Whitehead reentered the Toyota, the man in the backseat got out and pointed a rifle at him, records said.
As Whitehead and Oloyede “tussled” in the front seat, a witness heard someone say, “Shoot him,” according to the affidavit.
Whitehead’s passengers then got out of his car, and the one with the gun started shooting at Oloyede and the second man — later identified at Atkinson — as the two of them started running at the other two firing their weapons, records said.
Atkinson and Oloyede stopped firing when the armed passenger shot one of them, court records indicate.
Atkinson and Oloyede fled the scene on foot, but police found them later in the evening after officers called to Oloyede’s house on a report of a gunshot victim, records said.
Oloyede had been shot twice, records said. Atkinson was shot in the left foot, records said.
Prosecutors dropped charges against Oloyede last summer, saying they couldn’t prove his case, the Post-Tribune previously reported.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
