Prosecutors also secure prison sentence for fatal car crash and guilty plea for sexual assault
A member of the Shoot To Kill (STK) gang, who along with a fellow gang member were responsible for committing multiple armed robberies and three separate shootings, has pled guilty in Superior Court. Zaahir Smith, 21, of Newark pled guilty to Gang Participation, Robbery First Degree, Attempted Robbery First Degree, Assault First Degree, 2 counts of Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony, and Conspiracy First Degree. Smith and Diamonte Taylor, 21, of Wilmington, were indicted as STK members who engaged in a series of violent gang-related firearm violence during the month of May 2016. Smith and Taylor robbed two men at gunpoint after giving them a ride in Newark. Several days later, Smith shot a man during a robbery attempt in the 1600 block of Thatcher Street in Wilmington. A day later, Smith conspired with Diamonte Taylor to commit the broad-daylight murder of 15 year-old Brandon Wingo. Smith faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 14 years in prison when sentenced by a Superior Court judge later this year. In April 2018, a Superior Court jury convicted Smith’s co-defendant, Diamonte Taylor of Murder First Degree, Assault First Degree, 2 counts of Reckless Endangering First Degree, 2 counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, 2 counts of Aggravated Menacing, and Illegal Gang Participation. Deputy Attorneys General Mark Denney, Matt Frawley, and Monil Amin prosecuted the cases.
A 35-year-old Wilmington man will spend more than 25 years in prison for a crash that took the lives of two New Jersey senior citizens. In December 2017 while under the influence of drugs and driving a stolen vehicle, Stephen Goodman crossed a double-yellow line going 89 miles per hour on Delaware Park Drive, causing a head on collision with a car driven by 77-year-old John Simon. Simon died at the scene while his passenger, 92-year old Irma Simon died a short time later. Goodman pled guilty to Manslaughter, Reckless Endangering First Degree, Driving Under the Influence of Drugs, and Theft of a Motor Vehicle. A Superior Court judge sentenced Goodman to 25 years and 2 months in prison, followed by 2 years of probation. Deputy Attorney General Barzilai Axelrod prosecuted the case with assistance from social worker Kristen Fluharty-Emory and paralegal Jaevan Owens. Delaware State Police Cpl/3 Joseph Aube of the Collision Reconstruction Unit investigated the case.
Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Anderson secured a guilty plea from a Lewes man who sexually assaulted a young girl. In June 2018, Brandon Brennan was out with a friend and was too intoxicated to drive home. The friend allowed Brennan to stay at his home, and sometime during the night, Brennan went into the child’s bedroom and inappropriately touched her. Brennan pled guilty to Unlawful Sexual Contact First Degree and will be sentenced by a Superior Court judge in April. Victim services specialist Carla Ennals assisted with the case.