Man sentenced for 2019 murder of homeless man in hit-and-run near Capitol Casino

A man was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison for the first-degree murder of a local homeless man in a hit-and-run incident near Capitol Casino in 2019, according to officials.

On the afternoon of Aug. 24, 2019, Deante Whitaker got in an argument with George Anthony Kouklis, 60, when Kouklis was walking in front of Whitaker’s black Dodge Charger at an intersection near North 16th Street and McCormack Avenue, according to previous reporting by The Bee.

After yelling at Kouklis, Whitaker drove around the homeless man in the road and around the block, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office stated in a news release.

When Whitaker saw Kouklis standing at the same intersection, he drove “right into” Kouklis, critically injuring him, prosecutors said. Kouklis was launched across several lanes of traffic and died from blunt force trauma at an area hospital the next day.

According to prosecutors, Whitaker was arrested a little over a week later after calling to report that his license plates were stolen.