WILMINGTON-Deputy Attorneys General within the Delaware Department of Justice had several significant successes for the week ending January 16, 2015.
Convictions:
Deputy Attorneys General John Downs and Barzilai Axelrod won a conviction of second degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited against Joshua Stephenson, 29, of Wilmington. Stephenson shot and killed 29-year-old Myron Ashley on Christmas Eve 2012.
Deputy Attorney General Jamie McCloskey won a conviction against LaQuan Gibson, 23, of Wilmington, for possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, and dealing heroin. Executing a search warrant, police found a Tech-9 handgun, marijuana and a bag of heroin. They then searched the 2 vehicles outside and found 203 additional bags of heroin. Gibson was convicted for dealing heroin and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited. He faces enhanced sentencing on both charges due to a prior possession with intent to deliver conviction in 2010.
Deputy Attorney General Jenna Milecki won convictions of theft from a senior, two counts of unlawful use of a credit card (misdemeanor), receiving stolen property (misdemeanor), and theft of a motor vehicle against 41-year-old Eric Jackson. Jackson was homeless, and taken in by a 95-year-old family friend while the man’s wife was hospitalized. Jackson was asked to leave the house when the wife returned. A week later, the man noticed some of his personal belongings had been taken, and a month later, the victim’s vehicle was stolen. Jackson was arrested driving the man’s vehicle.
Deputy Attorney General John Taylor won a conviction against Paul Wright, 31, of Wilmington, for possession of heroin and possession of marijuana. Wright was arrested after Wilmington Police Department, DEA Agents and Maryland State Police conducted a drug sting operation. Wright was arrested at the Fairview Inn Motel on South Market Street in Wilmington, in possession of .30 grams of heroin. Officers then applied for, and were granted, a search warrant for a room at the motel, where they found .39 grams of heroin and 2.6 grams of marijuana.
Resolutions:
Deputy Attorney General Julie Finocchiaro secured at least 30 years minimum mandatory after a guilty pleas to first degree robbery and first degree attempted robbery from habitual offender Joseph Slayton. Slayton, 47, of Pennsylvania has three previous robbery and weapon convictions from Pennsylvania and Delaware. His guilty pleas are related to an attempted robbery of the TD Bank at 101 Hygeia Drive in Newark, DE. Less than an hour later, he pushed a 67-year old woman to the ground in a nearby parking lot, and stole her purse. Slayton was arrested the next day in a car that had been reported stolen two days earlier. He faces 30 years minimum mandatory prison time, with a maximum of life.
Deputy Attorneys General Colleen Norris and Jamie McCloskey secured a guilty plea of criminally negligent homicide from Myron Parker, 34, of Bear. Parker stabbed Michael Leger in October 2012 in the Glasgow Court Trailer Park, after Leger confronted him about driving through the neighborhood without using headlights where children were playing.
Sentencings:
Deputy Attorney General Periann Doko secured a 9 month prison sentence for Dennis Gibbs, 55, of Bear, who is a habitual offender. Wilmington Police Officers observed a hand to hand drug transaction involving the defendant and another man. The two parted ways, and a short time later were stopped separately by WPD. The defendant was found in possession of $34 dollars and the co-defendant was found in possession of .125 grams of heroin.
Deputy Attorneys General Matt Frawley and Monica Simmons secured combined sentences for a total of five years for 19-year-old Vincente Maniscalco of New Castle, for two counts of second degree assault. Maniscalco received three years for the unprovoked attack of a 15-year-old, breaking the victim’s jaw, and then received two years for attacking a bailiff attempting to take him into custody inside of the New Castle County Courthouse.
Deputy Attorney General Karin Volker secured a three month prison term, followed by four months of home confinement for Jody Barteau, 48, of Newark, for witness tampering. Barteau pled guilty to witness tampering and noncompliance with bond in connection with tying to get the victim of a sexual solicitation of a child case against him to change her story.
Child Predator Task Force Arrest:
On Thursday, January 8, 2015, members of the Child Predator Task Force conducted a search warrant at the home of 43-year-old Lincoln Davis, at 282 Scotch Pine Drive, Dover, DE. Davis was identified as a person of interest in an undercover investigation into the distribution of child pornography on the Internet. During a search of the residence, detectives recovered numerous items, including a laptop computer, two desktop computers, several cellular telephones, several hard drives, SD memory cards and other related evidence. In a forensic exam of the seized material, detectives discovered more than 25 video files of child pornography, as defined by Delaware law. Davis was arrested and charged with 25 counts of dealing child pornography, and ordered held at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center, in lieu of $500,000.00 secured bail.