Earl Whitley Jr., is the father of 4-year-old De-Earlvion Whitley, known as “Little Earl,” who was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2017. A federal judge has ordered Whitley to move out of Bexar County.
Courtesy, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
A drug trafficker who has repeatedly violated the terms of his supervised release from prison has to move out of Bexar County or go back to prison, a federal judge ruled this week.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery imposed the order on Earl Whitley Jr., a former member of the Crips gang-affliated “Skinny Bloc Crew” who was arrested in 2017 shortly after his 4-year-old son was killed by a rival gang.
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Whitley pleaded guilty to a drug-trafficking charge and was sentenced to three years in federal prison. He was let out of prison on supervised release, which was to continue to five years. Supervised release requires a former inmate to be monitored by a probation officer to ensure they are following specific rules, as a condition of freedom.
Whitley has violated the terms of his release at least three times, according to court records. Biery this week revoked Whitley’s release and imposed a new sentence of five years of supervision — along with the stipulation that Whitley move out of San Antonio and Bexar County to get him away from people who are negative influences. Whitley’s attorney and prosecutors signed off on that requirement.
Whitley was a member of the Skinny Bloc Crew, a subset of the Crips gang’s East Terrace Gangsters. The Skinny Bloc Crew members sold crack cocaine from vacant lots on the East Side.
In July 2017, a rival gang faction fired more than 60 shots into Whitley’s home, killing Whitley’s 4-year-old son, De-Earlvion Whitley, who was known as “Little Earl.” Prosecutors said the drive-by was in retaliation for a shooting that happened earlier that day.
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Whitley was arrested four months later, and in 2018 pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to sell crack cocaine.
In July 2020, Whitley was released and admitted to a sober living facility, according to court records. While at the facility, he admitted to drinking, which was a violation of the terms of his release, but he was allowed to remain on supervised release.
On April 6, 2022, the court was notified that Whitley had been arrested on a state drug charge. A federal warrant was issued and on Sept. 2, 2022, his supervised release was revoked. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, which was to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. Whitley began his second term of supervised release on March 27, 2023.
On Jan. 7, Whitley’s probation officer alerted the court that Whitley might have been involved in a homicide on Jan. 1, and that a report from San Antonio police indicated he was associating with members of the East Terrace Gangsters.
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On Jan. 1, Whitley was at the Stout Bar at 9218 Potranco Road with other gang members, according to court records. Whitley and the people he was with got into a fight with Marcus Robinson Tynes and some of Tynes’ friends in the bar’s parking lot.
As Tynes tried to drive away, at least three members of the East Terrace Gangsters “pulled out handguns and opened fire on the vehicle,” according to court records. Tynes, 37, died at the scene.
Whitley violated the condition that he not interact with anyone “engaged in criminal activity” and that he not associate with other convicted felons, according to court records.
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The death of Whitley’s son in 2017 made national headlines and sent shock waves through the community.
Four men — Quentin Travonne Phillips, Terrell Anthony Chase, Todd Anthony Hill and Michael Davonte Woodard — were convicted on murder charges related to the shooting and are serving prison sentences. Another defendant, John Chatmon, was convicted last year on a lesser charge of felony gun possession and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.