CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A Chesapeake jury on Thursday found an off-duty Norfolk police officer not guilty of manslaughter in a case from two years ago.
Edmund Hoyt was initially charged in the death of Kelvin White in January 2020. This was the second trial as the first was declared a mistrial back in August. The previous jury was deadlocked.
The jury started deliberating at 3:01 p.m. Thursday and had a not-guilty verdict around 5:00 p.m. Edmund broke down as the verdict was read.
Both Edmund and his wife Jessica took the stand, describing the moments leading up to Kelvin White's shooting death and how they said they feared for their lives.
On the stand Thursday, Jessica still visibly shaken, said she was scared when she crossed paths with Kelvin White as she and her two little girls were walking to the Food Lion in Chesapeake in Jan. 2020.
Jessica claimed White was blocking her from passing and stood about two inches away from her against the stroller with a menacing demeanor. Jessica said she'd have to go onto the street and didn't want to do that with her kids.
She said she told White, "I have mace and I'm not afraid to use it."
It was then that Jessica said White threatened her, saying "I have a knife and I'll stab you in the face."
Jessica said she didn't see a knife on White at that point, adding she frantically called her husband.
"I was weak and terrified and froze, and felt small and useless," Jessica said in court Thursday. "I didn't know what to do. I just hoped my husband would know what to do."
Hoyt, a Norfolk police officer, who was off-duty at the time, rushed to the grocery store, saying he went there to protect his family. Once there, Hoyt said he drew his gun and told White he was an off-duty officer, and he yelled commands for him to get on the ground. But White did not. The two got into a scuffle. Hoyt said that's when White started slashing him with the knife.
Hoyt said White kept walking toward him with the knife, so he shot him several times, calling it self-defense. Hoyt's lawyer said he made the right decision.
"Absolute relief," said attorney Mario Lorello. "This is a cloud that's been hanging over him for the last two years. The jury saw that he was going out there to protect his wife and children who had been threatened by an individual."
But White's family doesn't see it that way. Dorothy White, Kelvin's aunt called the outcome very demeaning.
"Very demeaning," she said. "Justice is not served. He killed my nephew in cold blood. My nephew didn’t do anything."
The Commonwealth's Attorney argued White was the one defending himself because he was "attacked by Hoyt." He said Hoyt pulled a gun on White before he even took a knife out, adding White had no proof Hoyt was an officer because he was in street clothes and didn't show a badge.
Bertha White, another aunt of Kelvin's, is unpleased.
"Where’s justice for the Black man?" she said. "Where’s justice? Justice was not served today. We know it wasn’t. It hurt us. We were deeply hurt."
Bertha White added, "His wife lied. She called him and told him she had been stabbed in the face which was a lie. We miss our nephew. He was somebody special to us. Just like Hoyt’s family is to him. He has his family to go home to every night. We won’t see KD again."
The Commonwealth's Attorney said White was not on his meds and had schizophrenia but was not aggressive unless he was provoked, pointing out he didn't threaten Jessica until she threatened White with mace.
During his testimony, Hoyt said he wanted the jury to hear from him. He said he felt "awful" after he shot White.
"That was never my intention that day," Edmund Hoyt said.
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A dozen witnesses have testified so far in the case of an off-duty Norfolk police officer charged with killing a Chesapeake man.
The case involves Edmund Hoyt, accused of killing Kelvin White in January 2020. This is the second trial as the first was declared a mistrial back in August. Tuesday marked day one of a new trial in the case.
The previous jury was deadlocked, and Hoyt's attorney said he felt a new jury would also not be able to come to a decision.
READ MORE: Jury deadlocks, mistrial declared in Chesapeake fatal shooting case involving Norfolk police officer
It's been about two years and nine months since the crime happened. It started when Mrs. Hoyt was walking with her young children near Food Lion on Bainbridge Boulevard when she said white threatened to stab her. She called her husband, a police officer who was off-duty at the time.
At one point, Edmund Hoyt and Kelvin White got into a fight. White was shot and killed. Later, Hoyt admitted he shot white five or six times. Hoyt's attorney argued his client was protecting his family.
White's brother, Gerard, who lives in Atlanta, previously told News 3 Kelvin had schizophrenia, but he's upset the attorney brought up the history.
"By them bringing my brother’s past in this, it has nothing to do with it, it’s irrelevant," Gerard White said. "We’re talking about what happened then."
On Wednesday, a psychiatrist did testify that White had a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The defense also called multiple witnesses to talk about incidents in which they had encountered White being aggressive.
The judge said testimonies from two witnesses expected on Thursday may be lengthy. He stated on Tuesday that the trial is expected to take three to four days.
