Upskirt photos, child pornography, burglary, drug dealing, robbery lead to prison sentences

A shootout that killed a Dover man will lead to life in prison for 2 Worton, MD men convicted at trial this week. A Kent County Superior Court jury convicted 28-year-old Guy Jones and 37-year-old DePaul Wilson of Murder First Degree, Murder Second Degree, Attempted Robbery First Degree, 2 counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and 1 count of Conspiracy Second Degree. In January 2017, Jones and Wilson went to the home of Javan Cale, 31, in the Clearfield Apartments in Dover with the intent of robbing him. When Cale answered his front door, Jones and Wilson exchanged gunfire with him. Cale died as a result of numerous gunshot wounds. Both Wilson and Jones were shot numerous times but recovered from their wounds. Deputy Attorneys General Stephen Welch and Sean Motoyoshi prosecuted the case with assistance from administrative assistants Donna Harris and Samantha Huey, paralegal Sue Balik, victims services social worker Kerry McElwee, and special investigator Pete Fraley. Detective Nate Warren of the Dover Police Department was the chief investigating officer.

A 75-year-old Georgetown man will spend 6 years in prison for taking upskirt pictures at a Dollar Tree store. Deputy Attorney General Casey L. Ewart secured the sentence for Charles Duffy. In September 2017, a customer of the Dollar Tree in Georgetown notified the manager after seeing Duffy taking pictures up a woman’s skirt while she was shopping. Duffy, a Tier 3 sex offender wearing a GPS monitoring device and on probation after serving 30 years in prison for a Rape First Degree conviction, pled guilty in January 2018 to Violation of Privacy. A Superior Court judge declared Duffy a habitual offender and sentenced him to 6 years in prison. Duffy, who also has convictions from Pennsylvania for Burglary, Aggravated Robbery and Forcible Rape from 1972, and Attempted Rape from 1978, still faces a violation of parole hearing. Georgetown Police Department investigated the case, and administrative specialist Angelique Waters and victim/witness social worker Carla Ennals aided the prosecution.

Child pornography charges lead to a 45-year-old Wilmington man spending the next 16 years in prison after his sentencing by a Superior Court judge. Michael Jessup pled guilty in November 2017 to 2 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography and 5 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child. In December 2016, members of the Department of Justice’s Child Predator Task Force executed a search warrant at Jessup’s home after receiving information from an internet service provider about pictures uploaded to a photo-sharing website. A Superior Court judge sentenced Jessup to 16 years in prison, followed by probation. Jessup must also register as a Tier 3 sex offender.

A Laurel man faces between 5 and 58 years in prison when sentenced after pleading guilty to Burglary Second Degree and 2 counts of Attempted Rape Third Degree. In May 2017, Tyrone Jenkins-Heath, 22, broke into a home on Penn Street in Laurel, planning to steal items, including the victims’ underwear, and to force the two women living in the home to perform oral sex on him. The victims were able to flee from the house before the defendant entered their room. A Superior Court judge will sentence Jenkins-Heath in June. Deputy Attorney General Casey L. Ewart prosecuted the case, with assistance from administrative specialist Angelique Waters and victim/witness social worker Carla Ennals.

Deputy Attorney General Barzilai Axelrod secured a guilty plea and prison sentence for a Newark drug dealer in possession of having almost 400 grams of heroin and more than 150 grams of cocaine when arrested. Wilfredo Benitez-Soriano, 23, was the leader of a sophisticated drug ring using a spotter vehicle and other counter-surveillance techniques as part of their efforts to thwart law enforcement detection. Over the course of several months, Newark Police, working with the Drug Enforcement Administration, conducted an investigation and made numerous purchases of heroin from this ring. Benitez-Soriano was arrested in July 2017. Benitez-Soriano pled guilty to Drug Dealing Heroin (super weight), Drug Dealing Cocaine (super weight), 2 counts of Conspiracy Second Degree, and an additional charge of Drug Dealing and was immediately sentenced by a Superior Court judge to 10 years in prison, followed by 3 months of either work release or home confinement, then 15 months of probation. Paralegal Jessica Ascione assisted with the prosecution.

A 36-year-old Wilmington man pled guilty to charges in connection with a knifepoint robbery. In July 2017, Joseph Caruso and a co-defendant, Anthony Faulkner, 27, of Wilmington, robbed a man for drug money at the Colonial Court Apartments in Wilmington. Caruso pled guilty to Robbery First Degree and Possession of a Deadly Weapon During Commission of a Felony. Caruso faces 5 to 10 years in prison when sentenced by a Superior Court judge in August. Faulkner, who pled guilty in February 2018 to Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony and Conspiracy Second Degree, will also be sentenced in August. Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Song prosecuted the case. Wilmington Police Department Officers Jennifer Deveraux, Jesus Caez, and Hailey Cockerham, as well as K9s Storm and Bayliss, were integral in the investigation of the case.

Print