In the late hours of January 15, 2025, the life of Miyett Antwione Little Jr., a 23-year-old Black male, was tragically cut short in Norfolk, Virginia. Around 11 p.m. on Greenleaf Drive, Little happened upon a heated argument between a man and a woman. Acting as a Good Samaritan, the unarmed Little approached the couple in an attempt to defuse the escalating situation.
His intervention, however, was met with unexpected and deadly violence.
The man involved in the dispute, identified as 25-year-old Lamont Charles Whitaker of Suffolk, reacted to Little's presence by pulling out a firearm. After a brief exchange of words, Whitaker shot Little ten times, emptying his weapon and killing him at the scene. Following the shooting, it was Whitaker himself who called 911 to report the incident. He identified himself as the shooter and waited for law enforcement to arrive. When officers reached the 1900 block of Greenleaf Drive, they found Little suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound, and he was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Lamont C. Whitaker was taken into custody at the scene and was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm. He later claimed to detectives that he fired because Little had walked up behind him. In November 2025, Whitaker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop the firearm charge. According to the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney, Little was acting as a responsible citizen trying to help, and Whitaker's reaction was without legal justification. Whitaker faces up to 21 years and four months in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13, 2026.
