Gulfport man gets prison for his role in the killing of young Kiln father and rapper
A Gulfport man is headed to prison for 20 years for his role in the June 6, 2018, armed robbery and shooting death D’Ante Washington, a father of one and rapper known as Tae Spitta.
Armon Joseph Crawford, 21, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and accessory after the fact to manslaughter last week.
Judge Larry Bourgeois sentenced Crawford to 40 years in prison on the armed robbery charge, suspending 25 years and leaving 15 years to serve.
That sentence runs concurrently to the 20-year sentence for the accessory charge, leaving Crawford 20 years to serve on both counts, followed by five years under post-release supervision.
In addition, the judge fined him $2,000.
A Hancock County grand jury indicted the shooter, Xavier Lamar Simmons, of Gulfport, and Crawford on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault and armed robbery.
Both pleaded guilty to reduced charges in exchange for their guilty pleas.
The shooting happened at Martin Luther King Park on Washington Street in Bay St. Louis. Also shot and injured in the incident was Daquan Lewis, then 23.
In December 2020, Simmons pleaded guilty to armed robbery and a reduced charge of manslaughter in the killing.
A judge sentenced him to 40 years in prison, with 20 years to serve on both charges.
The 23-year-old Washington grew up in Kiln with his family, including his sister, Kimberly Oliver, two younger brothers and several cousins. Washington had a 1-year-old son, Da’Montae.
Washington’s mother, Twanna Washington, has been very vocal about her son’s killing since it happened.
At the sentencing hearing for Simmons, she told him: “Not only did you take his life, but you robbed him of the opportunity to be with his son, start his new job and live the life that God blessed him with.”
Bay St. Louis police investigated the case.
“I have to go to a cold grave to tell my son how much I love him,” his mother told Simmons at his sentencing. “You took a part of me that I will never get back, and that has permanently altered my life.”
Assistant District Attorney Chris Daniel prosecuted the case.
