In the late hours of a Monday in Biloxi, Mississippi, the life of 22-year-old Leonardo Deandre White was tragically cut short. On March 21, 2016, a Black male known to his friends and family as 'Nardo,' was found with a gunshot wound in the parking lot of The Corner Station, a local neighborhood store at the intersection of Division and Lameuse streets. A 911 call was placed at 10:31 p.m., and upon their arrival, authorities discovered evidence of the shooting believed to have occurred in the 200 block of Delauney Street, just a block away from where White was found and close to his family's home.
White was rushed to Merit Health Biloxi, but the single bullet had struck an artery in his leg, and he succumbed to his injury at 11:38 p.m. Remembered by loved ones as a quiet and humble young man who had recently started a new job, his death left his community in shock and mourning. Friends and neighbors gathered near his home to remember a man they described as respectful and kind.
The day after the fatal shooting, a suspect turned himself in to the Biloxi Police Department. Jesse Marquerius King, a 27-year-old from Biloxi, was subsequently arrested and charged with the murder of Leonardo Deandre White. At the time of his arrest, King had a pending felony charge for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance from September of the previous year. A Justice Court Judge ordered him to be held without bond.
Despite the initial arrest and murder charge, the subsequent legal proceedings and the outcome of the case against Jesse Marquerius King are not readily available in public records. While one report indicated that the investigation into White's murder saw limited progress with no significant arrests, this is contradicted by the widely reported arrest of King. The motive for the shooting was never publicly released, leaving a lingering question in the narrative of that tragic night. The investigation into Leonardo Deandre White's death was stated to be ongoing, with law enforcement appealing to the public for any additional information.
