Chattanooga prosecutors move to revoke bond for 20-year-old man charged in shooting death of UTC student

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Mohammad Sharifi

Chattanooga prosecutors want to revoke bond for a 20-year-old man charged in the shooting death of a UTC student.

During a court hearing Tuesday, Executive Assistant District Attorney Cameron Williams said D'Marcus White violated probation on a 2018 assault case, for which he received diversion, when police charged him with criminal homicide and aggravated robbery in last week's shooting death of 24-year-old Mohammad Sharifi.

D'Marcus White

Because the Hamilton County General Sessions Court judges are at a judicial conference this week, special sitting judge Cris Helton did not make a ruling one way or another. He set the next court for March 12.

Chattanooga police say Sharifi was trying to sell his Xbox One gaming system to White when he was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Hixson Pike apartment complex at 12:18 p.m. on Feb. 19.

White was arrested the same day, shortly after he posted a local news article about the attack on Facebook with a series of laughing emojis above it.

White remains in custody on a $750,000 bond. If a judge agrees he violated probation, he would not be able to get out of custody while his case is pending.

White's public defender, Jay Perry, did not address the probation violation during his client's first appearance Tuesday. Perry declined to comment but will have a chance to hear and possibly question the state's evidence in Sharifi's homicide at the next court date in March.

During that court hearing, there will likely be a preliminary hearing that details the facts of the case. A judge will then decide whether there is probable cause that White committed the crime. If a judge finds there is, White's charges will be sent to a grand jury for further review. If the grand jury indicts White, his charges will move to Criminal Court, and attorneys will work toward a settlement, a trial or dismissal.

Friends and relatives of Sharifi and White both attended Tuesday's hearing. Security had to separate them and escort White's family out of a different exit after one of Sharifi's relatives suggested that one of White's supporters had laughed or smirked in the courtroom.

In an email, White's family said it was a friend that came to court, not a family member.

"Why are you laughing?" the relative asked through tears. "[He] took [Sharifi's] life away."

Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.