Others face prison time for human trafficking, robbery, and weapons charges

Doyle Hundley, the Harbeson man who pled guilty last year to killing his infant son, will spend 20 in prison after his sentencing by a Superior Court judge. Hundley, 40, and the baby’s mother, 30-year-old Casey Layton, were sole care-takers for their son Aiden in May 2015 when they called 911 saying Aiden was unresponsive. Aiden died after five months on life support. Examinations showed Aiden suffered multiple injuries and was malnourished. Hundley pled guilty to Murder by Neglect First Degree and was sentenced by a Superior Court judge to 20 years in prison. Layton also pled guilty to Murder by Neglect First Degree and was sentenced to 15 years in prison last month. Deputy Attorneys General Melanie Withers and Michael Tipton prosecuted the case.

Deputy Attorney General Periann Doko secured a guilty plea and prison sentence for a Dover man involved in a human trafficking operation. Donnell Singletary, 33, pled guilty to Human Trafficking of a Minor and Conspiracy Second Degree. Singletary was one of five defendants arrested in May 2017 for his involvement in the trafficking of a 16 year old girl in the Dover area. Singletary was sentenced to 2 years in prison, followed by 6 months of home confinement and 1 year of probation. Singletary must also register as a Tier II sex offender.

Frank Van Buren, 24, of Laurel, will spend the next 9 years in prison for two robberies in early 2017. In January 2017, while wearing a ski mask and armed with a baseball bat, Van Buren demanded cash from an employee of Jefferson Deli and Grocery in the 600 block of West 9th Street in Wilmington. When the clerk didn’t respond, Van Buren opened the register and stole approximately $400 before fleeing the store. A few weeks later in February 2017, this time armed with a sawed-off shotgun, Van Buren robbed the 7-11 store in the 600 block of East Chestnut Hill Road in Newark. Van Buren pled guilty in November 2017 to 2 counts of Robbery First Degree and one count of Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony. A Superior Court judge sentenced Van Buren to 9 years in prison, followed by 6 months of work release or home confinement, then 18 months of probation. Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Song prosecuted the case with the assistance of Detective Charlie Puit of the Wilmington Police Department and Detectives of the Delaware State Police.

Deputy Attorney General Zachary Rosen secured a guilty plea from Darren Mack-Harrison for his part in a February 2016 hold up of a convenience store. In February 2016, Mack-Harrison, 24, of Collingdale, PA and another man, Aris Patterson, 24, of Yeadon, PA, went into the store on Philadelphia Pike in Bellefonte armed with handguns and demanded money from employees and customers. Mack-Harrison ran from the store and Patterson got into a vehicle driven by 27-year-old Samantha Hooker of Glenolden, PA. Patterson and Hooker were taken into custody that day, and Mack-Harrison, in October 2016 who while in prison in PA, was a match on a DNA test. Mack-Harrison pled guilty to Robbery First Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Conspiracy Second Degree, and Resisting Arrest, and faces a minimum of 6 years in prison when sentenced by a Superior Court judge later this year. Patterson and Hooker were previously sentenced, with Patterson serving a 6 year prison sentence and Hooker serving 3 years. Paul Doherty of the Delaware State Police was the chief investigating officer, and DOJ social workers Courtney Cochran and Crystal Pitts along with paralegal Jessica Ascione assisted with the case.

Two teenagers have pled guilty in Superior Court for their parts in a shooting in Wilmington. Luis Velazquez, 16, of Newport pled guilty to Assault First Degree and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony for shooting a man in the leg during a botched robbery in the Adams Four Shopping Center in Wilmington in March 2017. Velazquez faces 5 to 52 years in prison when sentenced by a Superior Court judge later this year. Eighteen-year-old Darius Wrenn, the man who gave Velazquez the gun, pled guilty to Conspiracy Second Degree and Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon. Wrenn faces 0 to 10 years when sentenced. Deputy Attorney General John Taylor prosecuted the case.

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