Man pleads to 2001 Wilmington barbershop murder; other defendants face weapons, fraud, and theft charges.

Deputy Attorney General Mark Denney secured a guilty plea and jail time for gang related charges from a 16-year-old who was prosecuted as an adult, and is now prohibited from owning or possessing a handgun for the rest of his life. Jahlil Lewis of Newark pled to felony charges of Gang Participation, Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Juvenile, Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon, and Conspiracy Second Degree. In May 2016, Lewis was one of a group of suspects openly carrying guns in the 500 block of Sherman Street in Wilmington. Officers conducting surveillance in the area found Lewis with a loaded semi-automatic handgun. Lewis, a member of the Only My Brothers (OMB) street gang, faced a minimum mandatory sentence of 6 months on his conviction of the Prohibited Juvenile gun charge, and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Ferris Wharton to a total of 2 years in prison, followed by 6 months of either work release or home confinement, followed by 18 months of probation.

An 18-year-old from Wilmington pled guilty and will go to prison for his part in gang related activity. Deputy Attorneys General John Downs, Dan McBride and Periann Doko secured the plea from Dejuan Robinson, a member of the Touch Money Gang (TMG). In July 2015, Wilmington Police made a traffic stop in the 400 block of North Adams Street. During a pat down on Robinson, who was a passenger in the car, police found a loaded 9-mm semi-automatic handgun. Robinson pled guilty to Illegal Gang Participation and Possession of a Firearm By a Person Prohibited. Robinson also pled guilty to Escape Third Degree. In September 2015, while returning to the Stevenson House Detention Center in Milford following an appearance at the New Castle County Courthouse, Robinson kicked out a back window of his transport van and escaped, but was arrested a month later. Robinson was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Paul Wallace to 18 months in prison, followed by 18 months of probation.

A 42-year old Wilmington man, whose 2003 conviction was reversed after trial, pled no contest today to Murder Second Degree for the 2001 killings of 28 year-old Darnell Evans, and 5-year-old Damon Gist, Jr. in a Wilmington barbershop. In 2015, the Delaware Supreme Court overturned Chauncey Starling’s death sentence, and remanded the case for a new trial. In light of that Court’s decision and with the passage of time, less evidence was available to prosecutors. As a result of this plea, Starling faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, the maximum penalty for Murder Second Degree at the time of the killings, when sentenced by Superior Court Judge Andrea Rocanelli on March 24, 2017

Deputy Attorney General Christina Kontis secured a guilty plea and prison sentence for Russell Warren, II, 29, of Newark, for Possession of a Firearm By a Person Prohibited. In August 2016, Warren had two firearms in his possession, stolen from a vehicle in the Barret Run community in Newark. Warren is a person prohibited based on a violent felony Drug conviction in 2009. Because prosecutors had Warren plead guilty to a gun charge, he was subject to a minimum mandatory sentence. Superior Court Judge Paul Wallace sentenced Warren to 5 years in prison, followed by 1 year of probation.

Deputy Attorneys General Matthew Bloom and Chris Marques secured a guilty verdict on charges of Insurance Fraud and Theft against Johnesha Bailey, 30, of Wilmington. In February 2015, Bailey slipped and fell on ice in her employer’s parking lot, injuring her wrist and shoulder. Claiming she was unable to work, Bailey went on disability, but, got a new job in July 2015 and continued collecting workers’ compensation. Bailey made numerous false statements and omissions, either falsely affirming she was entitled to the disability payments or attempting to conceal her new job. Following the guilty verdict, Superior Court Judge John Parkins, Jr. sentenced Bailey to one year of probation.

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