Sex offenses, drug and gun cases also lead to convictions
Additionally: New Castle house deemed Criminal Nuisance, ordered to halt criminal activity or face closure

One man was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years for a 2015 Wilmington murder, while his accomplice received a sentence of 30 years this morning in New Castle County Superior Court. Attiba Mayfield, 22, of Wilmington, and 21-year-old Michael Broomer of Bear were convicted earlier this year for the murder of 19-year-old Raekwon Mangrum of Wilmington in April of last year. Mangrum was shot multiple times outside of a home in the 200 block of North Monroe Street. An 18-year-old woman who was with Mangrum was shot in the leg. The State’s evidence at trial portrayed Mayfield as the one who fired the gunshots, and Mayfield was convicted in June on charges of Murder First Degree, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Conspiracy First Degree, and Reckless Endangering First Degree. He was given a mandatory sentence of life in prison, plus an additional 20 years by Judge Ferris Wharton. Broomer was convicted of Murder Second Degree, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and one count of Reckless Endangering First Degree. Judge Wharton sentenced him to 30 years in prison. Deputy Attorneys General Brian Robertson and Dan McBride prosecuted the cases.

A 36-year-old man from Dresden, Maine faces 8 to 100 years in prison for raping a 14-year-old girl in a Delaware motel in 2015. Deputy Attorney General John Donahue secured a guilty plea from James Allen to three counts of Rape Third Degree and one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child. In February 2015, Allen was arrested when State Troopers went to the Comfort Inn on U.S. Rt. 113 in Georgetown and found a girl who had been reported as a runaway. Allen said the two met on social media and agreed to meet in Delaware. Allen is scheduled for sentencing before Superior Court Judge Richard Stokes in January.

A 21-year-old Clayton man faces up to 31 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual offenses against three young children. Deputy Attorney General Jan van Amerongen secured the plea from Anthony Rodriguez, to Sexual Solicitation of a Child, and two counts of Sexual Abuse of a Child by a Person in a Position of Trust, Authority or Supervision Second Degree. While working as a teacher at the Kidz Inc. Academy day care in Newark during the summer of 2015, Rodriguez kissed and touched the young children. Rodriguez will be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Eric Davis on November 15, 2016.

Deputy Attorney General Lindsay Taylor secured a guilty plea from Kevin McDonald, 43, of Magnolia, to pled guilty to two counts of Drug Dealing Tier 4 Cocaine and one count of Attempted Drug Dealing Tier 4 Cocaine. In the summer of 2015 during an investigation by State Police, McDonald sold cocaine to undercover police officers on two separate occasions, and, police were able to intercept a mail delivery of more than 210 grams of cocaine. McDonald was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clark to a total of 6 years in prison, followed by a year of probation.

Deputy Attorney General Nicole Hartman secured a guilty verdict against Jamarr Cannon, 33, of Dover for Possession of Firearm Ammunition by a Person Prohibited. During the summer of 2013, Cannon was the subject of a Dover Police Department drug investigation. In August, police executing a search warrant at an apartment on Courtside Drive in Dover, found Cannon inside with drugs, weapons, and ammunition. Due to a previous conviction for cocaine trafficking, Cannon is prohibited from having a firearm or ammunition, and will face up to 8 years in prison when sentenced in Kent County Superior Court.

A home at 1107 Washington Street in New Castle has been declared a nuisance property, forcing the owners to no longer allow illegal activity to take place, and comply with all code and zoning ordinances. Superior Court Judge Mary Miller Johnston signed the order against the property, and its owners, Sarah Hinrichs, who lives at the property, and Margaret Elizabeth Keefer of Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania. In a complaint filed in Superior Court by Deputy Attorney General Oliver Cleary as part of the Delaware Department of Justice stepped-up focus on nuisance properties, the house was detailed to be the site of drug use, an assault, acts of prostitution, and several arrests. The property also had housing and health code violations. The abatement order also bans illegal drugs, and states the property will not house any known or suspected fugitives. Any future violations could mean the property could be ordered closed by the court. Background on criminal nuisance property initiative available here.

Print