Delaware News

Man Charged with Perjury For Providing False Information About 2011 Wilmington Homicide

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Tuesday, March 19, 2013



Wilmington – Prosecutors have obtained an indictment charging a central witness to a 2011 Wilmington homicide with perjury and lying to law enforcement after he recently recanted earlier statements he made about the crime to police and on the stand at trial.

Abdullah Talib-Din, aka Douglas Lum, of Wilmington, was shot multiple times on April 27, 2011 while standing on a sidewalk along the 2800 block of North Jefferson Street.  During the attack, the assailant also shot 35 year-old Antonio Smith of Wilmington, who died from his wound.  Based in part on Talib-Din’s statements to police as he recovered, 32 year-old Medford Holmes of Wilmington was charged with Murder, Attempted Murder, and firearms offenses.  A four week trial against Holmes, during which Talib-Din testified that Holmes was the shooter, resulted in a mistrial in October, 2012 after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

Following the mistrial prosecutors decided to retry Holmes and a new trial was set to take place this year.  However, Talib-Din now asserts that the shooter was not Holmes.  As a result, prosecutors were obligated to notify the defense of this new information and were ethically bound to withdraw the indictment against Holmes, which occurred on Friday, March 15.  Holmes, who had been incarcerated since his 2011 arrest, was subsequently released from custody.

Yesterday, the Delaware Department of Justice secured an indictment by the New Castle County Grand Jury against Abdullah Talib-Din, currently age 32, that charges him with one count of Perjury and five counts of Providing a False Statement to Law Enforcement for multiple statements he made, but now recants.

“The criminal justice system depends upon the good citizens of our State reporting crimes and following through with their civic duty to testify truthfully,” State Prosecutor Kathleen Jennings stated.  “The Department of Justice assists witnesses by guiding them through the process and by protecting them from intimidation through our witness protection program. When an individual lies to police or testifies falsely it undermines the foundation of our legal system.  Deliberately providing false information that thwarts our search for justice will result in prosecution.”

The Delaware Department of Justice reminds the public that an indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt.  Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a jury trial at which the state bears the burden of proving each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Man Charged with Perjury For Providing False Information About 2011 Wilmington Homicide

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Tuesday, March 19, 2013



Wilmington – Prosecutors have obtained an indictment charging a central witness to a 2011 Wilmington homicide with perjury and lying to law enforcement after he recently recanted earlier statements he made about the crime to police and on the stand at trial.

Abdullah Talib-Din, aka Douglas Lum, of Wilmington, was shot multiple times on April 27, 2011 while standing on a sidewalk along the 2800 block of North Jefferson Street.  During the attack, the assailant also shot 35 year-old Antonio Smith of Wilmington, who died from his wound.  Based in part on Talib-Din’s statements to police as he recovered, 32 year-old Medford Holmes of Wilmington was charged with Murder, Attempted Murder, and firearms offenses.  A four week trial against Holmes, during which Talib-Din testified that Holmes was the shooter, resulted in a mistrial in October, 2012 after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

Following the mistrial prosecutors decided to retry Holmes and a new trial was set to take place this year.  However, Talib-Din now asserts that the shooter was not Holmes.  As a result, prosecutors were obligated to notify the defense of this new information and were ethically bound to withdraw the indictment against Holmes, which occurred on Friday, March 15.  Holmes, who had been incarcerated since his 2011 arrest, was subsequently released from custody.

Yesterday, the Delaware Department of Justice secured an indictment by the New Castle County Grand Jury against Abdullah Talib-Din, currently age 32, that charges him with one count of Perjury and five counts of Providing a False Statement to Law Enforcement for multiple statements he made, but now recants.

“The criminal justice system depends upon the good citizens of our State reporting crimes and following through with their civic duty to testify truthfully,” State Prosecutor Kathleen Jennings stated.  “The Department of Justice assists witnesses by guiding them through the process and by protecting them from intimidation through our witness protection program. When an individual lies to police or testifies falsely it undermines the foundation of our legal system.  Deliberately providing false information that thwarts our search for justice will result in prosecution.”

The Delaware Department of Justice reminds the public that an indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt.  Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a jury trial at which the state bears the burden of proving each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

# # #

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.