In January, a jury found Andrew Damron guilty of the 2018 Thanksgiving Eve murder of Scott White and other crimes connected to the murder. Yesterday afternoon, when Damron appeared before Judge Dena Martin in Greene Superior Court, he was sentenced to a total of 69 years in prison. The judge noted Damron has shown no remorse for taking White’s life.

Andrew Charles Damron, 24 at the time of the murder, of Linton, has now been convicted and sentenced for the killing of Scott A. White, 31, also from Linton.

Police said after Damron stabbed White in the neck with a 12-inch long knife around 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving Eve, Wednesday, November 21, 2018, he allegedly licked the blood from the knife as he sat in the truck of another man who had given Damron a ride to White’s home in Linton. Damron allegedly told the driver to drive away or he would kill him too.

Although he fled the scene, Damron was in custody within an hour after the incident – around 10 p.m. that night, police found him hiding in a closet in the home of a family member.

Following interrogation at the Linton Police Department, Damron was booked in to the Greene County Jail around 1:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 22, 2018, on a warrant previously issued on a petition to revoke a suspended sentence in a case involving felony intimidation.

The homicide investigation was led by then Detective Paul Clark of the Linton Police Department – Clark now serves as LPD Chief. Clark was assisted by LPD Sgt. Logan Hobbs, other LPD officers and personnel from the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, the Indiana State Police, Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw and Chief Deputy Prosecutor Keven McIntosh.

On Monday, November 26, 2018, the prosecutor’s office filed a criminal case against Damron charging him with murder. When Damron appeared in court for his initial hearing, Deputy Public Defender Ellen Martin was appointed to represent Damron.

As the case worked its way through the system, it appeared likely the case would not go to trial because a resolution would be reached in the form of a negotiated plea agreement. That changed a year ago, on June 6, 2019, during a hearing when Damron informed the court that he had been offered a plea agreement but he was rejecting it. The case was then scheduled to go before a jury in January, 2020.

Rolling the dice in front of a jury did not go well for Damron. On Wednesday, January 29, to conclude a trial in Greene Superior Court, the jury returned verdicts of guilty on four counts:

Murder, a felony,
Intimidation, a Level 5 felony,
Obstruction of justice, a Level 6 felony, and
False informing, a Class A misdemeanor.

The date for a sentencing hearing was set for earlier this spring but was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency and the need for social distancing.

Damron’s sentencing hearing did take place yesterday with various witnesses and family members either in the courtroom or taking the stand to speak as well as attorneys for the defense and prosecution.

In the sentencing order, Judge Martin noted she found two mitigating circumstances that were taken into account in determining an appropriate sentence. One was that Damron’s family said he was a good father to his four sons and he often was their caregiver while the mother worked. The other was that the defendant’s attorney argued Damron may have some mental health issues.

But the judge found several significant aggravating factors that greatly outweighed the mitigating factors. Listing these factors in the sentencing order, Judge Martin wrote:

The defendant has a significant criminal record given his age. The defendant has been in trouble with the juvenile and criminal justice systems since he was 12 years old.
The defendant was on probation at the time of the offense.
There was an active warrant for the arrest of the defendant at the time of this offense for a probation violation filed after the defendant battered another inmate in the jail.
The defendant has shown no remorse for taking the life of Scott White.
The defendant initially lied to the police for hours about the death of Scott White. When the probation officer was interviewing the defendant for his presentence investigation, the defendant lied about his military service. The defendant stated he was in the Navy and gave much detail about his service when in fact, the defendant has never served in the military.

Judge Martin wrote, “The defendant has trouble being truthful in matters of the highest importance.”

Damron’s sentencing breakdown:

Murder, felony murder, 61 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections (DOC), plus he is ordered to pay restitution to the Scott White family for funeral expenses of $8,546.95,
Intimidation, a Level 5 felony, five years in DOC,
Obstruction of justice, a Level 6 felony, two years in DOC, and
False informing, a Class A misdemeanor, one year in the Greene County Jail.

Damron was given credit for 297 days already served, plus he will be allowed good time credit for time already served if eligible.

Damron will be allowed good time credit in the future if eligible but he must serve a minimum of 75 percent of his sentence for the murder and intimidation counts, and a minimum of 50 percent of his sentence for the counts of obstruction of justice and false informing.

The judge ordered the sentences be served consecutively, or one after the other, which equals a total of 69 years.

Several stories involving Damron have been posted on GreeneStreets. Find them by clicking on the tag “Andrew C. Damron” below this story.