Other defendants face prison time for murder, rape, weapons, assault, and robbery charges

Khalil Seals, 18, of Wilmington, will spend the next 15 years in prison for a 2015 murder he committed as a juvenile. A Superior Court judge sentenced Seals for his February guilty plea to Murder Second Degree in connection with the September 2015 killing of Hassan Brown, also of Wilmington. Officers on patrol in the 500 block of North Madison Street in Wilmington heard gunshots and found Brown with a gunshot wound to the torso. Witnesses eventually identified Seals as the shooter. The judge sentenced Seals to 15 years, followed by 6 months of work release, then 2 years of probation. Deputy Attorneys General Joe Grubb and Jamie McCloskey prosecuted the case, along with paralegal Jaime Prater, social worker Kristen Fluharty, and Special Investigator Thomas Dempsey.

A 25-year-old Wilmington man faces 30 years to life in prison for his role in a 2015 murder. Dameir Walker pled guilty in Superior Court to Murder Second Degree, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Robbery First Degree, Home Invasion, Conspiracy First Degree, and Conspiracy Second Degree. In July 2015, Walker and three other men broke into the garage at a home in the 300 block of Martin Drive in New Castle, and shot and killed 29-year-old Isaias Gonzalez. Another man received gunshot wounds to both legs. One of Walker’s co-defendants, Marquivus Hardy, pled guilty to Murder Second Degree, Assault Second Degree, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Home Invasion, Conspiracy First Degree, and Conspiracy Second Degree in March. Another, Zeisha Watters, pled guilty to Murder Second Degree in July 2016 and, along with Hardy, is awaiting sentencing. Two others, Timane Dollard, 26 and Miguel Taylor, 26, both of Wilmington, are in custody and awaiting trial. Deputy Attorneys General Colleen Norris and Phillip Casale prosecuted the case, with social worker Kristen Fluharty and Special Investigator John Ciritella.

A 27-year-old Wilmington man faces at least 45 years in prison when sentenced for a 2015 shooting on the city. A Superior Court jury convicted Mark Grayson of Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited in Superior Court. In September 2015, a Wilmington Police officer heard gunshots in the parking lot of the Adams Four Shopping Center in the 800 block of Adams Street. The officer saw Grayson fire four more shots, and then take off as the officer approached. Grayson was caught after a brief foot chase. Grayson had been convicted in January of Reckless Endangering 1st Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Resisting Arrest for the same incident. Grayson, a habitual offender prohibited from having a gun because of prior convictions on drug, assault, and weapons charges, faces a minimum mandatory 45 years in prison when sentenced later this year. Deputy Attorney General John Taylor prosecuted the case.

A Wilmington man already serving a life sentence for the 2008 murder of a Dover man, received an additional 8 years in prison for Assault in a Detention Facility. A Superior Court judge sentenced Eric Dolby, 28, after a jury convicted Dolby in May. The jury found that in February 2016, Dolby repeatedly punched a correctional officer at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Institution when the officer ordered him to return to his cell. The officer suffered a broken nose, broken cheekbones, broken collarbone, and required a titanium plate permanently affixed in his face because of the beating. Deputy Attorneys General Kelly Sheridan and Jamie McCloskey prosecuted the case.

A 32-year-old Wilmington man pled guilty but mentally ill in Superior Court to 2 counts of Rape First Degree for his attack on a jogger in Brandywine Park last year. Deputy Attorneys General Jan van Amerongen and Diana Dunn secured the pleas from Dequan Rodriquez. While jogging in June 2016, the victim was slammed to the ground, assaulted, raped, and robbed at knifepoint by Rodriquez, whom she did not know. After the attack, Rodriguez forced the injured victim to walk with him to a WSFS Bank branch in Trolley Square to withdraw money for him. After getting the money, Rodriguez fled on foot. The Wilmington Police Department immediately began its investigation, led by Detective Jamie Tobin, and arrested Rodriquez within two days. Rodriguez faces 15 years to life in prison on each count when sentenced by a judge later this year.

Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Song, with the assistance of social worker Crystal Pitts, administrative assistant Tonya Kinsey, and Chief Investigating Officer Doug Rivell of the Wilmington Police Department, secured a prison sentence for a Wilmington man who robbed a Wilmington fast food restaurant. Adrian Spence, 40, of Wilmington pled guilty in June to Robbery First Degree for the October 2016 robbery of the McDonald’s in the 700 block of West 4th Street. In October 2016, Spence demanded money from the restaurant manager while holding something in his waistband the manager thought was a gun. Police arrived to find Spence still inside the store and took him into custody. A Superior Court judge sentenced Spence to 7 years in prison, followed by 6 months of either work release or home confinement, then 2 years of probation.

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