Kent County Man Sentenced for Manslaughter

Others face prison time for rape, gun, and drug charges

A 30-year-old Magnolia man was sentenced to prison in connection with a July 2015 killing in the Simon Circle neighborhood in Dover. Deputy Attorney General Stephen Welch secured the sentence for Erick Morton, after Morton pled guilty to Manslaughter. Morton was identified by surveillance video from municipal cameras that captured him shooting 35-year-old Jamal Weeks of Dover, in the 900 block of North Street. Morton was sentenced by Judge William Witham to 20 years in prison, suspended after 5 years for 6 months of Level IV work release, followed by 1 year of Level III probation and 1 year of Level II probation.

Deputy Attorney General Periann Doko secured a prison sentence for Charles Johnson, 34, of Wilmington. In February 2014, Johnson was arrested after being involved in a heroin deal. Johnson fled from police as they tried to stop his car, throwing money out of the window as he drove. Johnson pled guilty in May 2016 to Drug Dealing (Tier 2 quantity of heroin) and Disregarding a Police Signal. He was sentenced as a habitual offender due to previous violent drug and assault convictions to five years in prison, followed by probation.

Deputy Attorneys General Caterina Gatto and Christina Kontis secured a five-year prison sentence for Malik Moss, 31, of Bear after convicting him at trial in February for Drug Dealing (Tier 4 quantity of heroin), Aggravated Possession of Heroin, Disregarding a Police Officer’s Signal, Possession of Marijuana and Reckless Driving. In April 2014, Moss fled from police during a traffic stop. The car was found abandoned on the front lawn of a nearby residence. A large amount of heroin, some marijuana, and a cell phone were left behind. The vehicle and drugs were linked back to Moss through fingerprint and cellphone analysis.

Deputy Attorney General Sonia Augusthy secured an eight-year prison sentence for 19-year-old Al-Ghaniyy Price of Wilmington. Price pled guilty in April to Maintaining a Drug Property, Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, Possession of Ammunition by a Person Prohibited, and Drug Dealing (Tier 4 quantity of heroin). Price was arrested in May 2015 as part of an investigation into drug activity in the Sparrow Run neighborhood. When police entered his bedroom in his mother’s home, they found more than 150 grams of heroin, a 9-mm handgun, and ammunition. Price was sentenced by Judge John A. Parkins, Jr. to a total of eight years in prison, followed by six months at Level IV, then two years of Level III probation. DAG Augusthy also secured a prison sentence Mik’trell Spriggs, 22, of Sparrow Run, as a result of his conviction in the same drug investigation. Spriggs was charged with selling crack cocaine while on probation for a previous drug dealing conviction. Spriggs was sentenced to a total of eight-and-a-half years at Level V for three counts of Drug Dealing, as well as his Violation of Probation. His prison term will be followed by 6 months at Level IV, and 18 months of Level III probation.

Deputy Attorney General Jan van Amerongen secured a prison sentence for Paul Brunhammer, 34, of Salem, New Jersey. Brunhammer pled guilty in May to Rape Third Degree in a case from 2010. Brunhammer raped the daughter of his ex-girlfriend while he was visiting the mother’s home in Newark. When the victim reported the assault, Brunhammer was incarcerated in New Jersey for an unrelated sexual assault. Brunhammer was returned to Delaware earlier this year to face the new charge after completing his New Jersey sentence for Aggravated Sexual Assault. Judge William C. Carpenter, Jr. sentenced Brunhammer to 25 years in prison, suspended after 10 years for two years of Level III probation, and ordered him to register as a Tier III sex offender.