Gainesville Killer Alderious White Sent Back to ACSO Jail for Hawthorne Murder Trial Testimony

The man who shot and killed D’halani Armstrong in 2022 is back in the custody of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office Department of Jail (ACSO Jail) to testify in the trial for the burglary/murder case that took the life of Christin Cassels. 

It should be emphasized that the murders of Cassels and Armstrong occurred in different places years apart. The murders are separate tragedies; however, the nature of the cases appear to have some similarities.

In 2022, with the assistance of co-defendants Patrick Owen Watson, Jason Ward and Tiara Luckie, Alderious White broke into the home of Dovico Miles and his family over a drug-related dispute between Miles and Watson.

A jury found Watson guilty of orchestrating the home-invasion robbery and he was sentenced to life in prison. 

During the burglary, White shot and killed Armstrong.

Luckie avoided prison time, getting a 15-year probation sentence. Ward was sentenced to 30 years in prison with a 20-year minimum mandatory (day-for-day).

In October 2025, White pleaded no-contest to killing Armstrong. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison with a 25-year minimum mandatory (day-for-day). Two months later, he testified in Watson’s trial and verbally admitted to the murder. White was sent to prison sometime after testifying at Watson’s trial.

Moving to the present, co-defendants Nikenson Perin, Keneth Altidor and Blake Jackson are all in trial for allegedly killing Cassels in 2017. All three men face a count of armed burglary of an occupied structure or conveyance and another count of premeditated murder.

Assistant State Attorney Ryan Nagel is the lead prosecutor on the case.

Documents in Perin’s case file affirm that White was moved from prison to the local jail to testify at the trial. Jury selection for the three-man trial proceeded today (September 22). It hasn't been verified if the jury has been fully seated or if there have been opening statements.

Jury selection can commonly take over a day in serious/complicated felony cases. The trial is expected to last until Friday at the earliest but could stretch into next week depending on the number of witnesses or whether or not any of the defendants choose to testify.

White isn’t the only Florida prisoner who’s been transferred to the Alachua County Jail to testify at the trial. 

Court records further show that Dovico Miles Jr. has been transferred to testify at the trial. At the time of the transfer, he was serving a 15-year sentence for charges of accessory to second-degree murder after the fact and tampering with an electronic monitoring device.

Lance E. Martin Jr. has also been transferred from prison to the jail to testify at the trial. At the time of the transfer, he was serving a 20-year sentence for charges of aggravated battery, false imprisonment and witness intimidation.

White and Miles are in separate pods, while Martin and White are in the same pod, jail booking records show.

Court records show the prosecution has access to Verizon and Google records for the co-defendants. 

Watson’s case was heavily proven through phone records, as they showed he was communicating with his co-defendants at the time of Armstrong’s murder.

The reason that White, Martin and Miles Jr. are present for the trial is unclear.

Testimony from Detective Jeremy York at Perin’s pretrial detention hearing indicates that Cassels murder came after the co-defendants tried to rob a drug dealer who she was at the house with.

York affirmed that Cassels was unarmed at the time of death and she was found in a kneeling position. She had a visible gun shot wound to the head.

Perin is on a hold issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Judge David Kreider said, “Even if he was able to make bond, he's got an ICE hold, so he's not going anywhere no matter what… Except maybe out of the country…” Kreider granted the pretrial detention motion. Perin’s co-defendants are also held in pretrial detention.

According to records related to the upcoming trial, Perin is represented by Criminal Defense Attorney Michael Ruppert, who is the same defense attorney who was assigned to Watson’s case and lost. Altidor is represented by Criminal Defense Attorney John Ramsey, while Jackson is represented by Criminal Defense Attorney Geoffrey Mason.

Judge James Colaw is presiding over the trial.

Court records show Perin and Altidor both previously filed complaints about their attorneys and being deprived of evidence that will be used at trial. At the time, Criminal Defense Attorney Eric Atria (now Judge Atria) was Altidor’s lawyer, while Perin made a complaint about Ruppert but still has him as representation.