It wasn’t just the shoes: Man trying to sell Jordans killed in ambush, prosecutor says

KALAMAZOO, MI – A man was shot and killed when he tried to sell a pair of Jordans in Kalamazoo.

James Douglas White Jr., 29, was shot and killed Dec. 30, 2022, near North Burdick Street and Parsons Street. He went to Burdick Street to sell a pair of shoes to Jalani Darshawn Nowling, White's girlfriend Ebonie Whiteside testified.

It turned out to be an ambush, as White was shot at from two different directions.

Nowling, 27, is charged with 10 felonies, including open murder, for his alleged role in White's death. Five witnesses testified for more than three hours Wednesday, June 7, during Nowling's preliminary examination.

Kalamazoo County District Judge Christopher Haenicke found there was probable cause Nowling committed the crimes and sent the case to a jury trial.

Nowling is charged with one count each of open murder, assault with intent to murder, felon in possession of ammunition, discharge of a firearm in or at a building, two counts of felon in possession a firearm and four counts of felony firearms.

Related: Kalamazoo father of 8, killed in shooting, was life of party, family says

White was the father of eight children and loved his family deeply, his sister LiLi West said.

Going to sell the shoes to Nowling was a bad idea, Whiteside said she told White. Nowling is friends with Keyshawn Givhan, who White was ‘beefing with,’ Whiteside said. The two had a conflict that spanned a couple years, she testified.

Givhan had previously threatened to kill White, Whiteside testified.

While setting up the shoe transaction, Nowling messaged Givhan to see where to set the location. Cellphone data puts both Nowling and Givhan in the area of Burdick Street, Kalamazoo County Assistant Prosecutor Lindsey Schaller said.

Eight days before the homicide, Givhan and Nowling were both allegedly involved in a shooting at a home on Hawley Street, where White was known to stay at, multiple witnesses testified.

Some of Nowling's charges are related to the Dec. 22 shooting.

Nowling is in the area of the shooting, according to cellphone analysis, KDPS intelligence analysist Michael Fry testified. Cellphone analysis shows Givhan videocalled White for 6 minutes and 9 seconds during the time the house was shot at, Fry said.

Three bullet holes were found in the house on Hawley Street after that shooting, Schaller said.

Related: Kalamazoo man shot at meeting to buy shoes via Facebook, court record says

After the shooting Dec. 30, police found shell casings from two different guns in the area where White was shot, then-KDPS crime labs specialist Gary Latham testified. He has since retired.

On one side of the house, police found 7.62-by-39mm casings. About 55 yards away, police found 9mm casings, Latham testified.

Video footage shows two rounds of shots being fired, a couple seconds apart. It's "difficult but not impossible," that the same person fired both guns, Latham said.

White drives up to the house on Burdick Street, according to video footage, Latham said. White backs up and drives forward multiple times.

Gunshots are heard while the car is outside the view of the camera, Latham said. The car is then seen speeding away as a second round of shots is heard, he said.

The car crashes. White is taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital where he is pronounced dead.

Nowling is seen in the video footage around the time of the shooting, multiple KDPS employees testified. Police identified him by a red sweatshirt with distinct logos he was seen wearing on another day.

The 7.62-by-39mm casings match ammunition that both Givhan's girlfriend and Nowling are seen buying together in the days before the shooting at On Target Guns & Gunsmithing. The ammunition is used in an AK-47, which Nowling and Givhan are both seen holding in separate pictures, Detective Jon Schipper testified.

A couple days after the shooting, police found ammunition boxes for the AK-47 in a trashcan in the bedroom of Givhan's girlfriend, Schipper said. Mail for Nowling and a watch he's seen wearing in a video were also found in the trash can.

The Kalamazoo County Prosecutor's Office is not sure which gun fired the shots that killed White, Schaller said. They are operating under an aiding and abetting theory in the case, she said.

"We do know that both shooters in this matter contributed to either the death or had the intent to murder Mr. James White," Schaller said.

Givhan has not been charged in this case. The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety continues to investigate other possible suspects in the shooting, Kalamazoo County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Williams said.

Bond was continued to be denied for Nowling. He is in the Kalamazoo County Jail.

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