CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) – The trial began Monday in the case of an off-duty Norfolk police officer charged with voluntary manslaughter.
Edmond Hoyt is accused of shooting and killing Kelvin White in Chesapeake, in January 2020. Hoyt has been on paid administrative leave with the department since the deadly incident on Bainbridge Boulevard.
Police say Hoyt’s wife was walking with her children to the grocery store, when she encountered White, who told her she couldn’t pass. White allegedly threatened to stab her. The woman called her husband, not 911, and after an altercation, Hoyt fired six shots. White died at the hospital.
The prosecution says White had Schizophrenia and may have been off his medication.
Separate judges have granted Hoyt bond.
The jury selection was complete before lunchtime. Half of the jurors are white men, there are no Black men on the jury. This was a concern for Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney, D.J. Hansen.
During opening statements, Hansen argues Edmund Hoyt “overstepped” while attempting to defend his wife and kids. Hansen tells the jury that White was shot at least 3 times and then cuffed face down.
Hoyt was off duty; he was not wearing a uniform or badge at the time of the shooting. Hansen said when Hoyt got on the scene, he pulled his gun out. The two got into a fight, where Hoyt was scratched. Then Hoyt fired 6 rounds.
Hoyt’s defense team is made up of Attorney James Broccoletti and Mario Lorello. The defense argues this is a case of a husband defending his family. During Lorell’s opening statement, he shared a frantic 911 call from Hoyt’s wife after the shooting.
The wife told a Chesapeake dispatch operator she was walking to the Food Lion on Bainbridge with her two young kids. One child was in a stroller. White refused to move out of her way on the sidewalk
On the 911 call, the wife claims White then threatened to stab her with a knife. She explains she called her husband because he is law enforcement and “that‘s the only thing I know to do.”
Then the defendant’s attorney mentions White’s weight and size several times. The team also share previous incidents with White reported on the same road.
In January 2018, Chesapeake police reported that an officer pulled a gun when White resisted arrest. A Food Lion manager reported White was banned from the Bainbridge store after threatening to kill the manager and his kids. In July 2019, White reportedly threw a brick at a truck on Bainbridge Boulevard. The driver got out to confront White, then White allegedly pulled a knife on the driver.
A Chesapeake police officer testified that in January 2020, White was facedown and cuffed along Bainbridge boulevard when he got to the scene. On the stand, the officer said White had a backpack tightly strapped on his chest full of large books tied together. Those books stopped some of the bullets.
The judge expects this to be a 4-day trial. The defendant’s attorney said Hoyt will take the stand to try and convince a jury he is not guilty.
10 On Your Side will be covering the trial.
