For Immediate Release

Please Contact: Julia Lawes, 302-577-8901

Charges of Attempted Murder, Robbery, Assault, Burglary, Vehicle Death In Various Cases Result in Pleas, Convictions, Prison

Jonathan Dryburgh, a 24-year-old Florida man, pled guilty to Attempted Murder, Robbery 2nd, Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony, Resisting Arrest, and Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, and sentenced by a Superior Court judge to 31 years in prison.  In July 2017, Dryburgh walked onto a property in Westover Hills in Wilmington and grabbed a victim’s purse from under her feet while she was on the phone.  As police who responded searched the area for suspects based on witness descriptions, they attempted to stop Dryburgh in the area of Greenhill Avenue. As Dryburgh was fleeing, he shot at the pursuing the New Castle County officer. Deputy Attorney General Matt Frawley prosecuted the case.

A 24-year-old Middletown man pled guilty to Robbery First Degree and Wearing a Disguise During the Commission of a Felony. A Superior Court judge immediately sentenced Todd Miller to a 3-year prison term.  In September 2017, Miller entered the M&T Bank in Middletown disguised in a hat and large sunglasses, and handed the teller a note demanding money.  The teller gave Miller an envelope of cash and he fled.  Miller was known to local law enforcement, who were able to positively identify him in surveillance footage. Deputy Attorney General Phil Cassel secured the plea.

A Superior Court judge sentenced a Wilmington man to 5 years in  prison for Assault 2nd Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Act of Intimidation. Deputy Attorney General Zach Rosen secured the sentence for 20-year-old Daseonne Jones, with the assistance of DOJ Investigator Willy Santiago, Social Worker Courtney Cochran, and Paralegal Jessica Ascione. In May 2017 Wilmington police responded to a call for a shooting in the area of Elliot’s Way, and were told by witnesses that the shooter, who had shot the victim in the head resulting in a minor wound; had fled on a bicycle.  Jones was identified and later taken into custody. The prison time will be followed by two and a half years of probation.

Two Kent County men, 33 year-old Joshua Wilson of Harrington and 37-year-old David Sharp of Felton, pled guilty to charges of Burglary 3rd Degree and Maintaining a Clandestine Laboratory for entering a vacant house and manufacturing methamphetamine.  Deputy Attorney General Sean Motoyoshi prosecuted this case.  A Superior Court judge ordered an 18-month prison sentence to Sharp, along with drug treatment and probation.  Wilson will be sentenced by a judge in September and could be sentenced as a habitual offender based on previous convictions for drug dealing, strangulation, aggravated menacing and robbery.

Deputy Attorneys General Kathleen Dickerson and Kevin Smith secured a guilty verdict in a bench trial for Leaving the Scene of a Collision Causing Death and Failure to Report a Collision Causing Death for a 36-year-old Felton man.   Nathan Jester was operating a vehicle, which struck and killed Roger Coberly on Willow Grove Road in western Kent County in September 2017.  Jester fled the scene after the collision, later claiming that he thought he had struck a deer. A Superior Court judge returned verdicts of guilty on both charges. Jester will be sentenced in September and faces at least 6 months in prison. Sgt. John Wheatley of the Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit and DOJ social worker Lorraine Freese worked on the case.

A Superior Court judge sentenced a 36-year-old Wilmington man to 12 years in prison followed by probation for several violent and non-violent felony crimes. Deputy Attorney General Kelly Sheridan secured the guilty plea and prison sentence from Brandon Brown for Aggravated Menacing, Robbery 2nd Degree, two counts of Burglary 3rd Degree, Conspiracy 2nd Degree, and Wearing a Disguise During the Commission of a Felony. In early 2017, Brown stole thousands of dollars’ worth of cigarettes and other items from several convenience stores throughout New Castle County. Due to previous felony convictions on burglary, theft, forgery and weapons charges, Brown was sentenced as a habitual offender. DOJ paralegal Julie Caputo and social worker Crystal Pitts worked on the case, and Delaware State Police Detective Christian Hevelow was the chief investigator.

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