2 men sentenced to life in murder of Florida teen who reported assault
Two men convicted in the 2023 killing of a Florida teenager who had reported being sexually assaulted have been sentenced to life in federal prison, according to prosecutors. Authorities said the girl was killed in a murder-for-hire plot arranged by the man she accused.
Lenard White, 38, and Sheldon Robinson, 22, were sentenced Friday in federal court in Florida to two consecutive life terms plus 100 years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
A federal jury previously convicted both men in October 2025 on charges including conspiracy to commit murder for hire, murder for hire, premeditated first-degree murder, witness tampering and obstruction of justice.
The Tampa Bay Times identified the victim as 17-year-old Isabella Scavelli, a student at Hernando High School in Brooksville. She played tennis, took part in student government and the school’s JROTC program, and planned to join the military after graduation.
According to trial evidence, Scavelli and her mother went to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office on February 6, 2023, to report that White had sexually assaulted her. Prosecutors said White then arranged to have her killed and left the state to give himself an alibi.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that White posted on social media that he had “a cleanup job to do” and offered money to have Scavelli killed. Prosecutors said White recruited his cousin, Sheldon Robinson, to carry out the shooting for $6,000, and that Robinson in turn recruited Keshawn Woods to help.
The next night, Robinson and Woods went to Scavelli’s home in Brooksville, according to trial evidence and the Tampa Bay Times. The newspaper reported that Robinson disabled a porch light and disguised his voice before knocking on the door. The victim had just returned home from a tennis match.
When the door was opened, Robinson fired a barrage of shots at Scavelli and her mother, prosecutors said. Scavelli was struck in the back as she ran from the front door for help and died. Her mother, identified by the Tampa Bay Times as LaShawn Pope, was shot several times and survived.
White and Robinson later tried to hinder the investigation by disposing of evidence, tampering with witnesses, obstructing justice and making false statements to investigators. They also discussed plans to have another witness killed, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Investigators carried out more than 70 federal and state search warrants as they built the case. Six months after the killing, detectives and ATF agents searched Robinson’s home and recovered the murder weapon from a wooded area behind the property, prosecutors said.
Woods previously pleaded guilty in the case. Prosecutors said he was sentenced on Jan. 13, 2026, to 17 years in federal prison. Robinson’s mother was also sentenced in 2024 after federal agents said she lied about finding $6,000 in cash hidden in her home.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that both White and Robinson maintained their innocence at sentencing.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
