Two men sentenced to prison for 2023 Whiteville murder during planned robbery

WHITEVILLE, NC (WWAY) — Two men have been convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms in connection with a 2023 robbery that ended in the shooting death of a 53-year-old man in Whiteville.

District Attorney Jon David announced that Kenneth Wooten was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison, while his accomplice, Nicholas Mitchell, received a minimum sentence of 12 years.

According to prosecutors, the shooting happened on June 24, 2023, when Wooten arranged to meet Michael Scott in Whiteville under the pretense of a drug transaction.

Investigators say Wooten had planned to rob Scott and recruited Mitchell, who was 17 years old at the time, to help carry out the robbery.

Prosecutors say Wooten ordered Mitchell to shoot Scott, but Mitchell refused.

Wooten then took Mitchell’s revolver and shot Scott five times, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Scott was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Wooten, who prosecutors described as a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history, was sentenced to 360 to 444 months in prison, equivalent to 30 to 37 years.

Mitchell was sentenced to 144 to 185 months in prison, equivalent to 12 years to approximately 15 years and five months.

The District Attorney’s Office thanked the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Whiteville Police Department for their work investigating the case.

Prosecutors said the convictions bring accountability for Scott’s death, although no prison sentence can undo the loss suffered by his family.

“These defendants chose greed and violence over the value of human life. The consequences of those choices will now be measured not in dollars or drugs, but in decades behind bars,” the District Attorney’s Office said.