Hagerstown man convicted in fatal shooting outside Funkstown bar

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

0 4 minutes read

A Hagerstown man must serve at least 14 years of his sentence for the 2023 shooting death of Erwin Bernard Redding outside Jokers Bar and Grill in Funkstown before he is eligible for parole.

Family and friends of Darrin Anthony White told Washington County Circuit Court Judge Mark K. Boyer that Redding's actions outside the bar in the early morning hours of April 11, 2023, were uncharacteristic for him and asked for leniency in sentencing.

White's defense attorney, Tae Kim, said that to some extent, Redding and White were responsible for the tragic shooting.

Assistant State's Attorney Sarah Mollett-Gaumer said White could have walked away, gotten into the vehicle he arrived in and left after an earlier altercation in the bar with Redding.

White, 27, told Boyer he wished life had a “rewind button” so he could undo his actions that night. White apologized and expressed his “deepest condolences” to Redding, his family and loved ones. White also apologized to his own family and to “Maryland citizens affected by my actions.”

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Redding, of the Hagerstown area, was 38 and would have turned 39 the next day.

During White's sentencing, Boyer referenced a short video clip Mollett-Gaumer showed him of what happened when Redding left the bar and White shot him.

Boyer said that although White backed away when Redding first left the bar, White shot Redding several times, including shooting him after he was on the ground.

White pleaded guilty in February to second-degree murder in the case. Other charges, including first-degree murder for which White could have received life in prison if convicted, were dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Boyer sentenced White to 38 years in state prison, with all but 28 years suspended. Because murder is a crime of violence, he must serve at least half of his active sentence before he is eligible for parole.

White has 432 days of credit for time served.

Boyer said he designed the sentence so that White could be released while he was still a “relatively young man.”

Once released, White would be on supervised probation for five years. Conditions of probation would include not owning, using or possessing a firearm.

New information on bar fight and shooting

Kim told Boyer that when Redding walked out the side door of the bar at the corner of North Antietam and West Baltimore streets, he still had part of the knife with which he had stabbed White inside the bar in his hand. He also said Redding walked toward White outside the bar.

Redding had the handle of the paring knife he got from behind the bar, Kim told Boyer. The tip of the knife had broken off earlier.

Kim also showed Boyer a short video clip of the stabbing incident inside the bar.

Neither that video nor the one Mollett-Gaumer showed of the shooting was viewable in the general courtroom. Both times, a lawyer brought a laptop into court to show the video to the judge. Sound was not heard in either video.

White had a cut about 2 inches above one of his eyes, Kim said. If the knife had struck just inches away, White could have lost an eye or even died, the defense attorney said.

White told Boyer he had never felt so much fear, panic and shock as when he was stabbed that night.

He nevertheless described his actions as “terrible”.

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Kim also said that Redding had served time in prison and that as part of a preliminary investigation, a member of Redding's family shared that Redding had anger issues and explained how he struggled to make it out.

No members of Redding's family were in court for the hearing. Mollett-Gaumer said two family members submitted victim impact statements for the judge to read.

Mollett-Gaumer, referring to the absence of Redding's family in court, said people react in different ways to such tragedies and she didn't want Boyer to think Redding didn't have a family.

The prosecutor said she had already spoken with the mother of Redding's children. The woman expressed what other parents have said in a similar situation: how was she going to explain this to her children.

“We don’t really know what started this argument” or why it turned deadly, Mollett-Gaumer told Boyer.

The incident began inside the bar with an argument that escalated into a physical assault by White and one of his friends, Mollett-Gaumer said. She said Redding walked away and retrieved a paring knife from the bar and that White was cut above one eye.

White left the bar, while Redding could be seen on surveillance footage inside the bar, pacing and looking out windows, she said.

Mollett-Gaumer asked for a 40-year sentence without suspension.

Kim asked for about 18 years in prison, the lower limit of the sentencing guidelines for this case, which ranged from 18 to 25 years.

The sentencing guidelines are not mandatory and are an average of similarly rated criminal offenses in Maryland.

White's family and friends speak on his behalf at sentencing in Funkstown murder case

Kim said the stabbing incident happened about 3 to 4 minutes before the shooting.

Kim said he provided the judge with about 20 victim impact letters submitted by people on White's behalf.

About 17 people were in the courtroom in support of White. Four of them addressed the judge, saying the man in the video was not the man they knew. They described White as someone who was empathetic, respectful and helpful to others.

White's father, Darrin Watson, said he was still in shock and his family was sorry for Redding's loss.

“I talk to Darrin every day. He's very remorseful…” Watson said.

New information on bar fight and shooting

White's family and friends speak on his behalf at sentencing in Funkstown murder case

Lina Portman

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