CROWN POINT â A Lake Criminal Court judge sentenced a Hammond man Thursday to 60 years in prison for shooting his cousin to death over what prosecutors described as a case of damaged pride.
Shaun A. Whitelow, 32, was convicted in May of murdering 30-year-old cousin Darvell L. Smith, of Hammond, early Nov. 3, 2019, as Smith sat in his parked car in the 2300 block of White Oak Avenue in Hammond s Robertsdale neighborhood.
The two had fought the night before during a family party at another location in Hammond. Police were called, but no arrests were made during the earlier fight.
Whitelow also was convicted in a subsequent bench trial of a firearm enhancement.
"Shaun Whitelow brutally executed his own cousin by shooting him three times while his cousin Darvell Smith sat defenseless in his car," a deputy prosecutor said during closing arguments.