Crime & Safety

16-Year-Old on Trial in Stabbing Death: It was Self-Defense

Leonard White told a jury that he was bullied by the victim of the June 4 fatal stabbing in West Bloomfield.

PONTIAC — Sixteen-year-old Leonard White told an Oakland County Circuit Court jury Thursday that a fatal stabbing incident June 4 occurred after he was  repeatedly bullied by the 17-year-old victim, who was three times his size.

"I was scared," White said of Johnathan Rickman, a West Bloomfield resident who died after a single stab wound through the abdomen to the heart. White is facing an open charge of murder, as well as charges of felonious assault with a dangerous weapon.  with testimony from family, friends, police and emergency medical service providers. Testimony continued Thursday from West Bloomfield Police, friends and EMS, as well as White.

White maintained that he was acting in self-defense by grabbing a knife from a kitchen counter and following the victim outdoors to the street on Rafford Lane after being repeatedly punched in the head at a party which involved drugs and gambling.

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"I closed my eyes ... I swung. I didn't even know that I stabbed him," White said.

In front of the teary-eyed family of the victim and of his own family, as well as television cameras and various news media representatives, White recounted two years of bullying that crossed over into social media online and ended on an extremely hot summer weekend evening.

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White testified that he and Rickman were acquainted, but far from friends. "Some days, we had fun playing basketball, and some days, he wanted to fight," White said. The two went to different schools in the Walled Lake Consolidated School District, but had many mutual friends.

Social media played a large role in Thursday's testimony. Twice over the course of their acquaintance, White testified, Rickman called him via Skype, which allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Once, White testified, Rickman showed off a black handgun during a Skype call.

Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Hall printed off pages of status updates from White's Facebook page, which he said contained personal insults toward Rickman and his family.

Party gone wrong

White testified that the day had gone well until the gathering at mutual friend Alan Green's house. He said that on June 4, he and five friends went to the to play basketball, a game that White particularly enjoyed. The friends went to McDonald's and then to Green's house, where Rickman and several friends of his came over uninvited.

White testified that Rickman and friends met White and his friends in Green's backyard and joined them as they were smoking marijuana. Rickman and his friends went into Green's home without permission, White testified, and began throwing dice. White testified that he told Rickman that Green's mother was soon to come home and he didn't want Green to get into trouble with her.

Rickman began to punch White, White testified, after Rickman was egged on by friends. White intentionally fell to the floor, vision blurring and eyes watering, in an effort to make Rickman stop, White testified.

With his voice getting quieter in court Thurday, White said he grabbed a kitchen knife and chased Rickman outside to Rickman's Escalade, where he saw Rickman open the passenger door and put his arm inside. "The image of the gun from the Skype call came to play," White said.

That's when the stabbing occurred, said White, who told officers in a statement that day that he had acted "out of reflex."

White received medical treatment for an acute closed head injury sustained during the June 4 fight, he testified, but only after his mother arrived to the police station to request it. White said he continues to suffer pain in his jaw.

If White is convicted, he could be sentenced as an adult or juvenile, or could receive a "blended" sentence at the discretion of Judge Wendy Potts, who is presiding.

Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday morning.


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