Other defendants face prison time for weapon, drug, and DUI charges.
Deputy Attorneys General Marie Graham and Ben Snyder secured a 12-year prison sentence for Fchante Robertson, 28, of Dover. In April 2015, Robertson shot and killed 19-year-old Dashawn Friend in the parking lot of the Pine Grove Apartments on Webbs Lane in Dover during a marijuana deal that turned into a robbery. Robertson pled guilty in September to Manslaughter and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. Superior Court Judge Robert Young sentenced Robertson to a total of 12 years in prison, followed by 1 year of Work Release, then 2 years of probation.
Deputy Attorney General Sonia Augusthy and former Deputy Attorney General Dan Logan secured a 25-year prison sentence for 37-year-old Dewayne McNair of Wilmington. In December 2012, McNair was on probation for drug charges, when Wilmington Police received a tip that he was planning to leave the state. Officers stopped McNair’s car for traffic violations, and found a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun under the passenger seat and crack cocaine on his person. He was convicted in 2013 of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony and Drug Dealing. Judge Vivian Medinilla sentenced McNair as a habitual offender to the minimum mandatory 25 years.
Deputy Attorney General Tim Maguire secured a guilty plea from Chyanne Dabney, 25, of Wilmington to Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited. In March 2016, a Wilmington Police officer stopped a car driven by Dabney for several traffic violations. A second officer arriving to assist, saw a semi-automatic handgun tucked into the rear pocket of the front passenger seat. Dabney, who is prohibited from having a gun due to a previous felony conviction, faces a minimum of 5 years in prison when sentenced by Superior Court Judge Ferris Wharton on December 16, 2016.
A Delaware City man was convicted by a jury of his eighth DUI offense. Deputy Attorney General Ryan Bounds secured a conviction against 42-year-old Brian McKee. In May 2016, McKee, whose driver’s license was still suspended from a previous DUI conviction, took his girlfriend’s vehicle without permission and hit another vehicle while backing out of a parking space in a parking lot in the 700 block of East Chestnut Hill Road in Newark. McKee was found guilty of Driving Under the Influence, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Criminal Impersonation, and Driving While Suspended. McKee will be sentenced in Superior Court on February 10, 2017.
Deputy Attorney General John Taylor secured a conviction against Kenneth Swanson, 31, of Wilmington, on drug and traffic offenses. While on routine patrol in April 2016, Wilmington Police did a computer check on a vehicle traveling in the 1100 block of Lancaster Avenue, and learned it was suspended and unregistered. When officers attempted to stop the car, Swanson, the driver, sped away then hit another vehicle at the intersection of 4th and North Van Buren Streets. Swanson climbed out of the car and ran, but was taken into custody. Police found more than 11 grams of heroin when they searched Swanson’s car. A jury found Swanson guilty of Drug Dealing (Tier 4 Heroin), Aggravated Possession (Tier 5 Heroin), Resisting Arrest, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Driving While Suspended, Reckless Driving, Operation of an Unregistered Motor Vehicle, and Failure to Stop at a Red Light. Swanson is scheduled for sentencing in Superior Court in February.