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The closing of a troubling case was marked by the sentencing of two men involved in a sinister conspiracy against a teenage girl who had bravely reported a sexual assault to law enforcement. Federal officials confirmed that justice was served as the court handed down sentences that underscored the gravity of their crime.
In Tampa, Florida, the Department of Justice announced that Lenard White, aged 38, and Sheldon Robinson, aged 22, will each serve consecutive life sentences, plus an additional 100 years, for their roles in the brutal murder of a 17-year-old high school student from Brooksville in 2023. This tragic crime was part of a calculated murder-for-hire plot.
U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe from the Middle District of Florida detailed the convictions of White and Robinson. Their sentencing is the culmination of a case that deeply affected the Brooksville community.
Earlier in the year, another individual involved, Keshawn Williams, had accepted responsibility for his involvement in the crime. He was sentenced on January 13 to 17 years in federal prison, reflecting his part in the harrowing events.
According to evidence presented during the trial, the Department of Justice highlighted the chilling details of the crime. On February 6, 2023, the victim, alongside her mother and a schoolmate, reported a sexual assault to deputies in Hernando County. Tragically, the following day, Robinson arrived at her home, where he fatally shot the teenager and grievously wounded her mother. Despite sustaining several gunshot wounds, the mother survived, though she was forced to witness the devastating loss of her daughter.
“The evidence showed the murder was orchestrated by White, the man who had sexually assaulted her, and who had left the state prior to her murder to give himself an alibi. His cousin, Robinson, committed the murder for $6,000,” the DOJ said.
The DOJ also said that White and Robinson tried to hinder the investigation by getting rid of evidence, tampering with witnesses and making false statements to police, among other actions.
Hernando County deputies worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives during this case. As the DOJ notes, they executed over 70 federal and state search warrants, which helped investigators obtain a “step-by-step blueprint of how Robinson killed” the teenager.
After six months, the DOJ says, detectives with Hernando County Sheriff’s Office and the ATF executed a warrant at Robinson’s house, where they found and recovered the gun used in the murder.
The DOJ detailed that White and Robinson were found guilty of all charges by a federal jury on Oct. 29, which included conspiracy to commit murder for hire, murder for hire, premeditated first-degree murder and obstruction of justice, among others.
Robinson’s mother, Janet Williams, was charged in 2023 of making false statements to the ATF, authorities said at the time.