Whitehouse Man Pleads Guilty to 2013 Murder

TYLER — A Whitehouse man has pleaded guilty to the 2013 murder of a man at a Tyler apartment complex. According to KETK, Earnest Deaundra Jackson, Jr., pleaded guilty to the shooting and killing Joshua McGill, 21, at Kensington Place Apartments in June 2013. According to the Smith County District Attorney’s Office, the capital murder charge against Jackson was dropped in exchange for his plea, taking the possibility of the death penalty off the table.

Last year, investigators learned that McGill was in the process of selling marijuana to the Jackson and Ladarrius Devonte Warren, 19. The suspects had the intention of stealing McGill’s marijuana without paying for it when Warren shot McGill. If convicted, Jackson is facing life in prison and fines not to exceed $10,000 although District Attorney Matt Bingham recommended a 30-year sentencing.