Four people are facing charges in connection to a $10,000 murder-for-hire conspiracy that saw a teenage Florida girl shot dead after she told police she was sexually assaulted by a man.
Isabella Scavelli, 17, of Brooksville, was allegedly shot dead on her doorstep by two men on Feb. 7, one day after reporting to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) that Lenard White, whom she knew, had attacked her. Scavelli’s mother was also seriously injured in the alleged hit after the teen opened the door to a hail of gun fire.
Now investigators at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Florida say White hired two men – Sheldon Robinson, 21, and Keshawn Woods, 22 – to carry out the gunning down of Scavelli because she spoke out.
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Lenard White, Keshawn Woods and Sheldon Robinson faces charges in what police said was a murder-for-hire conspiracy. (Hernando County Sheriff’s Office courtesy of FOX 13 Tampa)
White, investigators said at a Thursday morning press conference, offered Robinson about $10,000 to murder the teen.
Robinson seemingly accepted the number and then brazenly asked for help via social media saying he had a “clean up job” to do. He said he would give his accomplice $5,000 and cocaine to help, according to the HCSO. Investigators held up an image Robinson posted to social media showing the cash and cocaine.
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Sheriff Al Nienhuis, of the HCSO, said Scavelli was not engaged in any” high-risk activity.” “She was a good kid with a very bright future and to see her life cut short is heart-wrenching to say the least. Words cannot even express it,” Nienhuis said.
Nienhuis said ammunition matching the gun used at the crime scene was found at Robinson’s home.
Robinson seemingly accepted the $10,000 offered and then brazenly asked for help via social media saying he had a “clean up job” to do. (Hernando County Sheriff’s Office)
The HCSO, working in conjunction with the ATF and law enforcement officials recently found a gun hidden in the backyard of Robinson’s home, Fox 13 Tampa Bay reported. Nienhuis said that when the ballistics test came back it showed that the gun was used to shoot the victims.
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The three are all in custody and been charged with a slew of crimes including conspiracy to commit murder for hire, murder for hire and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, officials said.
Isabella Scavelli, 17, was shot dead in Florida on Feb. 6, 2023. (Hernando High School courtesy of FOX 13 Tampa)
White and Robinson were also charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, tampering with a witness, and obstruction of justice.
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Meanwhile, Janet Williams, Robinson’s mother, was charged with multiple counts of providing false statements to federal agents after she allegedly discovered $6,000 cash in her home and was not forthcoming to law enforcement about the money.
If convicted on all counts, White, Robinson, and Woods each face mandatory life imprisonment, or the federal death penalty. Williams faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison for each of the three false statement counts.
