NewsTreasure CoastRegion Martin CountyHobe Sound

Actions

James White: Man fatally shot during altercation in Hobe Sound; protection order denied to shooter

Posted at 7:04 PM, Mar 16, 2017
and last updated 2019-03-26 23:03:43-04

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office has released new information about a deadly shooting Thursday night in Hobe Sound.

37-year-old James White was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after he was shot by his brother-in-law Adrian Dixon, the sheriff’s office said.

The incident happened around 6:11 p.m. in the front yard of a home in the 8000 block of SE Aurora Way.

A relative of both White and Dixon owns the home where the shooting happened.

Dixon gave investigators this version of events: He said he was in his car when White pulled up. Dixon said when White approached he was afraid and told him not to come any closer. He claims White continued to approach so he fired four shots.

Two bullets struck White in the chest.

Detectives said that they later learned James White and his wife were having domestic issues.  Dixon, the wife’s brother, said White was angry that he became involved in the situation, investigators said.

According to the sheriff’s office, Dixon told them he was worried for his safety due to recent verbal threats by White.

On March 13th, Shemeeka White asked for and was granted a protection order against her husband James White, citing detailed accounts of incidents that left her bruised and bloody.

Stephanie Myron is a victim's rights attorney.

"It sounds like they were trying to do the right thing, they were trying to get that protection but some people can't be deterred," Myron says.

On March 16th, Shemeeka White's brother, Adrian Dixon, asked for and was denied protection from James White, trying to cite repeated violence-citing a threatening phone call and a letter left by White in Dixon's mailbox.

"That's the minimum requirements but that's enough for a stalking injunction and sadly it was filed as a repeat violence and that's probably why it would have been denied," Myron says.

The court documents don't show any lawyer listed to help guide them through the process. But even if the restraining order had been signed off, there's no guarantee things go differently.

Dixon told investigators he feared for his life when James White wouldn't stop approaching him in Dixon's aunt's driveway.

"At the end of the day, we're still just dealing with a piece of paper and that's what intel my clients, pieces of paper they don't stop bullets but if you have that temporary injunction, sometimes that provides that deterrent," Myron says.

DCF is involved in this case.

No one has been arrested, but the Martin County Sheriff's Office won't rule it out. They are looking for someone with more information or video of this shooting.

The investigation continues and the sheriff’s office asks anyone who may have witnessed the incident, to call the Martin County Sheriff’s Office at 220-7170.