Other defendants face prison for weapons, drug, child pornography, and theft charges

A 38-year old Newark man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in an attempted carjacking in Wilmington. In September 2017, James Branch tried to climb into a woman’s car in the parking lot of a supermarket on South Walnut Street in Wilmington. Branch and the victim struggled in the car before the victim was able to escape and run back into the store. Branch pled guilty in April 2018 to Attempted Car Jacking and Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony. A Superior Court judge declared Branch a habitual offender because of previous convictions on robbery, assault, kidnapping, and conspiracy charges, and sentenced him to 50 years in prison followed by 6 months of either home confinement or work release. Deputy Attorney General John Taylor prosecuted the case, with Detective Michael Wilkerson of the Wilmington Police Department the lead investigator, and DOJ social worker Donna Lindsey assisting on the case.

Deputy Attorney General Timothy Maguire secured a prison sentence for Michael Jackson, 31, of Wilmington, in two separate cases. In August 2016, Wilmington Police attempted to stop a car driven by Jackson after it ran a red light at the intersection of East 26th Street and Northeast Boulevard. Jackson drove off and police found the car, still running with the door open, a short time later. On the floor of the car was a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun. When police arrested Jackson at his home on outstanding warrants a few weeks later, they found evidence of drug dealing. Jackson was convicted in a non-jury trial in June 2017 of Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Possession of Ammunition by a Person Prohibited, Disregarding a Police Signal, and Failure to Stop at a Red Light. In February 2018, Jackson pled guilty to Drug Dealing. A Superior Court judge sentenced Jackson, prohibited from having a gun because of previous convictions on weapons and gun charges, as a habitual offender to 40 years in prison followed by a year of probation.

A Tier II sex offender already on probation has been sentenced to prison following a guilty plea to new charges earlier this year. Jeremy Fiske, 21, of Townsend, pled guilty in February to 2 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography and one count of Sex Offender Unlawful Sexual Conduct Against a Child. Police went to Fiske’s home in February 2017 after the mother of Fiske’s prior juvenile victim from a 2014 Unlawful Sexual Conduct Against a Child conviction called police to say Fiske had been reaching out to the victim. Fiske told police he had been accessing pornography online and had images of child pornography. A Superior Court judge sentenced Fiske to 10 years in prison, followed by 4 years of probation. Fiske will now register as a Tier III sex offender. The case was investigated and prosecuted by the Child Predator Task Force.

A series of thefts from vehicles has led to prison sentences for two Seaford men. Deputy Attorney General Kevin Gardner secured a guilty plea from William Nunemann, 32. In June 2017, Nunemann stole items including firearms, a purse, a GPS unit, and tools from cars in Seaford. Nunemann, barred from having a gun because of past convictions on felony theft and burglary charges, pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited and 4 counts of Burglary Third Degree. A Superior Court judge immediately sentenced Nunemann as a habitual offender to 4 years in prison followed by 6 months of home confinement or work release, then 1 year of probation. Nunemann’s co-defendant, his 35-year-old brother Tommy Nunemann, pled guilty in July 2018 to Possession of a Deadly Weapon by a Person Prohibited and 2 counts of Burglary Third Degree. A judge sentenced Tommy Nunemann, prohibited from having a gun because of a felony conviction on a drug charge, to 5 years in prison, followed by 6 months home confinement then one year of probation. DOJ paralegal Amanda Forston assisted with the case.

The DOJ’s Office of Civil Rights and Public Trust secured a guilty plea from a former state education department employee for using department program funds for personal use. Then-DOE Education Associate and Head Start Collaboration Director April Hill-Addison, 53, of Mt. Airy, MD, pled guilty to misdemeanor Theft by False Pretense and misdemeanor Official Misconduct. From the end of 2013 until July 2015, Hill-Addison misused Head Start funds for her personal use by seeking reimbursement of money already repaid by DOE. As director, Addison was responsible for collaborating programs between the Wilmington Head Start program and the DOE. Addison received money from WHS subgrant funds by intentionally creating and reinforcing a false impression that she did not receive reimbursement from DOE for costs associated with out of state travel for training purposes, though DOE. A Superior Court judge sentenced Hill-Addison to 6 months of probation and ordered her to pay restitution of $6,164.82 to the Delaware Department of Education. Deputy Attorney General Brionna Denby prosecuted the case with assistance of DOJ Special Investigator Brittney Ketler.

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