AUSTIN (KXAN) – De’Ondre White, 21, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of Douglas Kantor in the Sixth Street mass shooting on June 12, 2021, according to the victim’s attorney.

Before deciding on a punishment for White, jurors heard from witnesses Thursday. The jury found White guilty of murder late Wednesday night.

Prior to the decision, state prosecutors asked the jury to take into account the whole picture when deciding, including the 14 people injured. They argued White should serve at least 40 years in prison. 

Meanwhile, White’s Defense team asked for five years and no more than 20. They argued White was a good kid in a bad situation.

In the end, the jury decided on 30 years late Thursday night.

“Our office is committed to holding people who commit acts of gun violence accountable,” said Travis County District Attorney José Garza in a news release Thursday. “In a split second, the lives of 15 people were changed forever by a senseless act of gun violence. We hope this verdict and sentence brings closure and peace to the victims and their families.”

Sentencing testimony

The state called several witnesses prior to the sentencing, including many of the people who had been shot in 2021.

”Everything came crashing down,” Adriana Salazar said through tears while describing the shooting. She was out with a friend at the time of the shooting.

“Next thing I know, I stopped moving. I just fell to the ground,” Salazar said. “It went through my whole right leg.” 

Police body camera footage showed her screaming in pain after being shot. Salazar’s femur shattered. She said it took eight months before she could walk again but that the emotional toll was much greater.

Daniel Peterson told the court that he had been shot in the ankle but still ran two blocks because he wasn’t sure if there was still an active shooter in the area. Peterson said that he still does not have full range of motion in his ankle and that he won’t return to Sixth Street “because it is not safe.”

Juan Miguel Soto was on Sixth Street celebrating his birthday. He was leaving a bar when shots rang out. He told the court that he was hit and started to lose a lot of blood. Worried he was going to lose his life, he tried to call his 5-year-old son. Soto told the court that the wound is mostly healed now but that he is still living with the emotional trauma from that night.

Jessica Ramirez was also shot and is paralyzed. Ramirez was supposed to testify Thursday but had a “seizure[-like]” event after hearing the verdict on Wednesday night. Her mother spoke on her behalf.

“She said she’d prefer to be dead than to be the way she is – paralyzed,” Ramirez’s mother said through tears.

White’s defense team called up people who swore they would be able to look after White when he eventually was released from prison. 

Ruth Collins, White’s aunt whom White has lived with for over a decade, said she reached out to the Kantor family the week she heard that White may be involved. 

“I am so sorry this all happened, he shouldn’t have been there,” Collins said. “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Is he a bad person? No, he is not a bad person,” Collins said.