Circuit Court Judge Nigel Graham sentenced Brandon Whiteman, 21, of Bardolph to 18 years in prison for fatally stabbing Dalton Rose, 21, of Keokuk, outside a Macomb nightclub during the early morning hours of July 24, 2022.
Whiteman faced up to 20 years in prison after a McDonough County jury in November convicted him of second-degree murder.
Judge Graham also ordered Whiteman to serve one year of supervised release after the prison term ends. He was given credit for 144 days already served. And the judge ordered Whiteman to pay restitution to Rose’s family for the cost of his funeral.
Whiteman’s statement during the sentencing hearing
Whiteman was sentenced Friday morning in the main courtroom at the McDonough County Courthouse. The room was filled with family members and friends of both men.
Reading from a statement that he said he wrote, Whiteman told the court that he went out on July 23 to celebrate a new job. He called the altercation with Rose “the biggest mistake of my life,” and he apologized to Rose’s family.
“I’m sorry to every single one of you,” he said while looking out into the courtroom.
Whiteman said he prays every night for forgiveness and mercy. He said he tried to talk tough during the altercation but that he feared for his life.
“If I could take it all back, I would in a heartbeat,” he said.
He called it a tragedy that no one should have to go through.
Victim impact statements
The court also heard from several members of Rose’s family.
His mother, Andrea Chezum, participated via Zoom. She said Whiteman is not sorry -- he just wants to get out as quickly as possible. She said Whiteman needs to learn that actions come with consequences.
She called the stabbing a senseless act.
“I want you to picture Dalton’s face and my face every single night when they slam shut your cage,” she said while calling for the maximum 20-year sentence.
Chezum said she spoke with her son on the phone less than an hour before he died.
The court also heard from Hailey Finch, who had a daughter with Rose. She said the girl is now 11 months old and will never get to celebrate birthdays, holidays, or other events with her father.
“I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” she said in the courtroom while looking directly at Whiteman. “You deserve to be put away for life.”
Finch said Rose was her best friend and that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. “You took him away from me and my daughter, and you took everything away from Dalton.”
Prosecution and defense statements
First Assistant State’s Attorney Susan Maxwell asked Judge Graham to impose the maximum sentence. Maxwell said Whiteman provoked the altercation.
“This was not a fight. It was an ambush,” she said.
Maxwell also noted that Whiteman has a criminal history, and that at the time of the stabbing he was out on bond for a misdemeanor and a felony.
Defense attorney James Hoyle said Whiteman deserved probation, or not more than 4-6 years if sentenced to prison. He said Whiteman had no prior criminal convictions as an adult.
Hoyle also said Whiteman did not go out that night looking for a fight.
“It takes two to tango,” he said several times, adding that the events unfolded in a hurry. “A lot happened in 10 seconds.”
The ruling
Judge Graham said he considered Whiteman’s age and lack of prior adult convictions when deciding on the sentence.
But he also took into account Whiteman’s history of delinquency as a minor and the nature of the offense. He said Whiteman provoked the fight, chose not to leave in a car when the opportunity presented itself, and that Whiteman was the only one in the fight with a weapon. He said Whiteman loudly used a racial slur outside a bar, inciting others.
“He was the reason there was a fight,” the judge said.
Judge Graham said he found Whiteman’s behavior egregious and appalling.
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