WISE, Va. — A South Carolina man has pleaded guilty to murder for the 2021 shooting death of a southwestern Virginia police officer.
Big Stone Gap Police Officer Michael Chandler was conducting a welfare check at a home on Orr Street early on the morning of Nov. 13, 2021. As he approached the house, Michael Donivan White, now 36, fired eight shots at him from a car, hitting the officer twice.
Chandler died of his injuries later that day.
On Thursday, White pleaded guilty to a single count of first-degree murder.
“Today’s plea was a pivotal event in Wise County history,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Brett Hall said following the hearing. “I have to thank the entire law enforcement community in Southwest Virginia and agencies in Northeast Tennessee for their work in this case. Specifically, Agent Michael Rose with the Virginia State Police, Agent Corey Duke with the ATF, Sheriff Grant Kilgore and the entire Wise County Sheriff’s Office, Chief Steve Hamm and the Big Stone Gap Police Department, and so many others put thousands of hours into this case. Suzanne Kerney-Quillen, Steven Davis, and I look forward to sentencing the defendant and getting as much closure as possible for the family of Officer Michael Chandler.”
White now faces up to 100 years in prison when he is sentenced in August.
