SAN ANTONIO – The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office has dismissed charges against yet another defendant who was charged with murder.
Todd Hill was one of several co-defendants charged with the 2017 drive-by shooting of four-year-old De’Earlvion Whitley.
Whitely was killed after gunmen fired 65 shots into his home amid a turf war linked to gang violence on the city’s East Side.
Hill, along with Terrell Chase, Quentin Phillips, Dakota Peppers, Michael Woodard and John Chatmon were all arrested three years after the shooting and charged with murder, felon in possession of a firearm and deadly conduct.
On Friday, Hill pleaded guilty to the felon in possession charge as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to eight years in prison. His murder charge was dismissed.
“He was not only not guilty, he was innocent of what the state was accusing him of,” Hill’s defense attorney Shannon Locke said.
The prosecutor on the case said there just wasn’t enough evidence to go to trial.
“Due to the examination of evidence and various witnesses we come the conclusion that we can not prove that Mr. Hill fired his weapon during the time the murder occurred,” assistant district attorney James Phillips said.
This is the latest in a string of dismissals from the district attorney’s office in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, Jose Gerardo Gonzalez, who was accused of the Oct. 2022 murder of a 48-year-old man, had his murder charge dismissed.
On Feb. 13, Kyle Phillips and Dorian Morphree had their capital murder charges dismissed. They both were accused of taking part in the robbery and fatal shooting of a 19-year-old woman.
The district attorney’s office said in those cases that further investigation was needed and they couldn’t provide further comment on pending cases.
As for the Whitley murder case, three of the co-defendants that are still charged are expected to go to trial in May.