A 2017 murder in Wilmington has led to a 25-year prison sentence for an Elsmere man. Tariq Taylor, 26, pled guilty in August 2018 to Murder Second Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited in connection with the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Shamar Lindsay of Wilmington. In May 2017, Taylor shot Lindsay as Lindsay stood in the 1200 block of Elm Street in Wilmington. Police arrested Taylor as he fled the scene, with officers finding a loaded .40-caliber handgun in a trashcan along Taylor’s route. A Superior Court judge sentenced Taylor, barred from having a gun because of a previous weapons conviction, to 25 years in prison followed by 6 months of either home confinement or work release, then 2 years of probation. Deputy Attorneys General John Downs and Matthew Bloom prosecuted the case with the assistance of paralegal Stacey Coupe and social worker Donna Lindsey. Detective Joe Bucksner of the Wilmington Police Department was the lead investigator.
Deputy Attorneys General Dennis Kelleher and Lisa Whitelock secured a prison sentence for a 23-year-old Dover man who killed his girlfriend. In June 2017, Darren Weiford fatally shot Amber Buckler, 20, while she lay in bed in a room at the First State Inn in Dover. In November 2018, Weiford pled guilty to Murder Second Degree and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. A Superior Court judge sentenced Weiford to 33 years in prison, followed by one year of work release, then 2 years of probation. Paralegal Sue Balik and administrative assistant Crystal Khan assisted with the case.