Murder, child sexual assault, child pornography and robbery charges also send defendants to prison
Deputy Attorney General Dominic Carrera secured a prison sentence for a Wilmington man convicted on weapons charges by a Superior Court jury earlier this year. In June 2017, police executing a search warrant arrested Josiah Woody, 37. A jury convicted Woody in February 2018 of Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, Possession Ammunition by a Person Prohibited and Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number. A Superior Court judge sentenced Woody, barred from having a gun because of previous felony convictions on assault, drug, and weapons charges, to 10 years in prison, followed by 6 months of either home confinement or work release, then 18 months of probation. New Castle County Police detectives Jennifer Escheman and Ronald Phillips handled the investigation; DOJ paralegal Lisa Loikith and admin Valerie Davis assisted with the prosecution.
A 20-year-old Wilmington man faces 18 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to murder. Deputy Attorney Generals Daniel McBride, AJ Roop and Michael Degliobizzi secured the plea from Isaiah Baird. In January 2017, after a brief argument in the area of North Harrison and Elm Streets in the City of Wilmington, Baird shot and killed 21-year-old Kaden Young, and wounded 20-year-old Shyjuan Dickerson, both of Wilmington. Baird pled guilty to Murder Second Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Conspiracy First Degree. Baird is scheduled to be sentenced by a Superior Court Judge on February 8, 2019.
A Superior Court judge has sentenced a Smyrna man to 40 years in prison on child sexual abuse and child pornography charges. Joshua Gladden, 35, was arrested in November 2017 after an investigation that showed he uploaded an image of child pornography to an online chatroom and on Skype. Further investigation uncovered information about Gladden sexually abusing two minor children. Gladden pled guilty in June 2018 to one count of Dangerous Crime Against a Child, one count of Unlawful Sexual Contact First Degree, and 3 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography,. The Court sentenced Gladden to 40 years in prison, followed by 2 years of home confinement, then 2 years of probation. Gladden must also register as a Tier 3 sex offender. The case was prosecuted by the Child Predator Task Force with assistance from social worker Lorraine Freese.
A 55-year-old Wilmington man must register as a Tier 2 sex offender and serve prison time for his June guilty plea to child pornography charges. In July 2017, it was reported to the Child Predator Task Force that someone in the Wilmington area had uploaded a pornographic image of a child to Skype. An investigation led to a search warrant and the arrest of Alexander Sokolski. Sokolski pled guilty to 2 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography, and was sentenced by a Superior Court judge to 6 years in prison, followed by 6 months of either home confinement or work release, then 4 years of probation.
A 2017 bank robbery has led to a prison sentence for a 48-year-old Wilmington man. In October 2017, Clarence Conner went to the Citizens Bank branch in the Suburban Plaza Shopping Center in Newark, handed a teller a note demanding money, and implied he had a gun. Conner grabbed a stack of $100 bills a teller was counting and left the bank. In May 2018, Conner pled guilty to Robbery First Degree, Robbery Second Degree, and Terroristic Threatening. A Superior Court judge sentenced Conner to 5 years in prison, followed by the completion of the CREST substance abuse program, then 2 years of probation in CREST Aftercare. Deputy Attorney General Marc Petrucci prosecuted the case; detectives from the Newark Police Criminal Investigations Division investigated.