Also: One House Closed, Second House Has Restrictions In Lincoln For Drug Activity Leading To Criminal Nuisance Action

Deputy Attorneys General Colleen Norris, Phillip Casale, and Cari Chapman, and senior paralegal Kimberly Moro secured a guilty plea from a 30-year-old Bear man, resolving a 9-year-old murder case. Jason Slaughter pled guilty to Murder Second Degree in connection with the shooting of his friend, Christopher Masters. When police arrived at Masters’ home in the Summit Bridge Trailer Park in December 2007, they found him dead from a gunshot wound to the head, and Slaughter suffering from a gunshot wound to his shoulder. Slaughter told police two men arrived at the trailer and shot him and Masters. The case went cold for two years. Slaughter moved to Georgia where he was arrested for the murder of Michael Haegle in 2010. In that case, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) investigators found Slaughter was the beneficiary of a life insurance policy taken out on the victim, Haegle. During the investigation GBI found another insurance policy with Slaughter as the beneficiary and Christopher Masters as the insured. In 2012, Slaughter, already in custody in Georgia, was indicted for Masters’ murder in Delaware. In August of 2013 Slaughter was convicted of the Haegle murder in Georgia. Slaughter will be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Eric Davis in February, and faces 15 years to life in prison. Slaughter’s Delaware sentence will begin upon the conclusion of his Georgia sentence which is life plus 7 years. He is eligible for parole in Georgia in 2042.

Deputy Attorneys General Danielle Brennan and Kelly Breen secured a prison sentence for Dustin Brown, 32, of New Castle for Manslaughter and Leaving the Scene of a Collision Resulting in Death. In October 2015, Brown’s vehicle struck Kimberly Quade on Route 273 in New Castle. Brown then took Quade to the parking lot of the New Castle Farmer’s Market, leaving her without calling for medical help or police. Quade was found the next morning by a passerby, after Quade had died. Brown was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Calvin Scott, Jr. to 5 years, 9 months in prison.

Deputy Attorney General Mark Denney secured a guilty plea and prison sentence in Superior Court for gang member Malik Winters, 16, of Wilmington, to Gang Participation, Assault Second Degree, and Attempted Robbery Second Degree. In February 2016, Winters, who admitted to being a member of the criminal street gang known as Only My Brothers (OMB), attempted to rob a woman in the 1100 Block of West 2nd Street in Wilmington. Winters admitted using a specific firearm, which was later found in the possession of a different OMB Member and co-defendant. Superior Court Judge Ferris Wharton sentenced Winters to 1 year in prison, followed by 6 months of either home confinement of work release, then 18 months of probation, and he is now prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm.

Five Newark teenagers pled guilty and were sentenced in a burglary at Artemis Outfitters in Greenville in July 2016, during which 27 handguns were stolen in order to be sold or used in other crimes:
· Jordan Banks, 18, pled guilty to Burglary Second Degree, Theft of a Firearm, Wearing a Disguise During a Commission of a Felony, and Conspiracy Second Degree.
· Tyliek Church, 16, pled guilty to Burglary Second Degree, Theft of a Firearm, Wearing a Disguise During a Commission of a Felony, and Conspiracy Second Degree.
· Tomier Cooper, 17, pled guilty to Burglary Second Degree, Theft of a Firearm, Wearing a Disguise During a Commission of a Felony, and Conspiracy Second Degree.
· William Morgan, 18, pled guilty to pled guilty to Burglary Second Degree, Theft of a Firearm, Wearing a Disguise During a Commission of a Felony, and Conspiracy Second Degree.
· Jamir Stewart, 16, pled guilty to Burglary Second Degree, Theft of a Firearm, and two counts of Conspiracy Second Degree.
All 5 co-defendants were sentenced to 1 year in prison, followed by 6 months of either home confinement of work release, then 18 months of probation. All are now persons prohibited from owning or possessing firearms.

The owners of one Sussex County property have been ordered to close its doors, while the owners of an adjacent property have entered into nuisance abatement agreement with the State. A complaint for temporary and permanent nuisance abatement was filed last fall against the owners of homes at 20989 Cubbage Pond Road and 21068 West Mayhew Drive in Lincoln. The complaint stated the two properties have been the site of illegal drug activity and multiple arrests. Superior Court Judge Richard Stokes signed a court order to temporarily close the Cubbage Pond Road property, citing it as a criminal nuisance that adversely impacts the community pursuant to the Criminal Nuisance Abatement Act. The order states presumptive owners, Carol Nordberg, Debbie Shirey, Mary Shirey Monahan, Shawna Shirey, as well as current tenants, residents, or occupiers of the property must vacate it immediately. Before being able to reopen the house, the owners must adhere to several items in the order, including restricting a list of specific individuals from further contact with the property, cleaning and fixing the property, and retaining a licensed realtor or property manager to be responsible for renting the property. The owners of the home at 21068 West Mayhew Drive, Thomas Monahan and Mary Shirey Monahan, have agreed to limit the number of residents, and restrict the same list of individuals from the property. The owners must also not allow any firearms or illegal drugs on the property, and comply with all health and safety codes. Deputy Attorneys General Carla Jarosz and Beth Savitz represented the Department of Justice in these hearings, which has been part of the Attorney General Denn’s office renewed use of the state’s criminal nuisance property statue to deal with problem properties (https://news.delaware.gov/2016/10/06/nal/).

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