Whitehaven Man Convicted in Fatal Shooting

April 2, 2022 – A Whitehaven man was convicted Friday in the shooting death of a driver in 2019 who had pulled away to avoid being robbed, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A Criminal Court jury convicted Courdarrius Perkins, 22, on counts of murder in the perpetration of a felony and aggravated robbery. The murder carries a sentence of life in prison. He will be sentenced later on the robbery.

The incident occurred on Feb. 25, 2019, when the driver, Kordedris Overton, 26, and a friend were giving an acquaintance, Dontavius Whitfield, a ride home. When they stopped in the 4300 block of Graceland, however, Whitfield stepped out, pulled a gun and demanded their valuables.

While his friend handed over a cellphone, Overton began driving away as Whitfield’s partner in planning the crime, Perkins, approached the car with a gun in his hand. Overton was shot in the head, shoulders and the leg. Overton was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Whitfield, 24, is set for trial later this month.

The trial this week has handled by Chief Prosecutor Theresa McCusker and Asst. Dist. Atty. Eric Walton of the District Attorney’s Vertical Team 1 which prosecutes cases in General Sessions Division 7 (Veteran’s Court) and in Criminal Court Division 1.