In the early hours of January 8, 2013, a grim discovery was made at a Rally's restaurant on Lynnhaven Parkway in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Inside, police found the bodies of two brothers, 19-year-old Michael A. Johnson, a male, and his 27-year-old brother, Alphonso White. Both had been fatally shot in what investigators quickly determined was a robbery.
The tragic event unfolded after the restaurant had closed for the night, a place where White was an employee.
The investigation into the double homicide soon focused on two of Alphonso White's coworkers. Virginia Beach police arrested 22-year-old Deandre Leon Dunnaway and his 19-year-old girlfriend, Cheari Asia-Na Edwards. Both were employees at the same Rally's and were subsequently charged with two counts of murder, armed robbery, three counts of use of a firearm, and conspiracy. The arrests sent a shockwave through the victims' family, who were stunned to learn that the accused were colleagues of Alphonso. The motive for the brutal crime appeared to be robbery, with reports indicating that a little over one thousand dollars was stolen.
The legal proceedings that followed brought a measure of justice for the grieving families of Michael Johnson and Alphonso White. Both Dunnaway and Edwards pleaded guilty to the charges against them. Deandre Dunnaway, who was identified as the shooter, received a life sentence in prison with no possibility of parole. His apology, which he had written but was reportedly too emotional to read in court, offered little solace to the families devastated by his actions. Cheari Asia-Na Edwards was sentenced to 47 years in prison for her role in the murders and robbery. The case left a lasting scar on the community, highlighting the tragic consequences of a robbery that senselessly cut short the lives of two young men.
