Delaware News

DOJ Secures Lengthy Sentence For Pennsylvania Man For Violent Robbery Of Little Italy Resident

Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Thursday, August 31, 2023


Navy blue background featuring the Delaware state seal in the center

A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison for violent assault and robbery. On August 25, 2023, Zykeem Fields, 23, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by probation, by a Superior Court judge. Fields, who lived part-time in Wilmington, pleaded guilty to felony charges of Assault 1st Degree and Robbery 1st Degree following a brutal attack in 2022.  

On September 28, 2022, Fields followed Romeo and Linaflor Hidalgo home from WSFS Bank, where he witnessed them withdrawing a large sum of money. Fields approached Mrs. Hidalgo as she reached the landing of her front porch steps and snatched her purse from her shoulder, pulling her down five concrete steps and inflicting severe brain damage. The robbery occurred on the day before Mrs. Hidalgo’s 83rd birthday. 

“The Defendant’s actions were shocking and callous,” said Attorney General Jennings. “He tracked a senior citizen and robbed her at the threshold of her own home, on the eve of her 83rd birthday. She suffered devastating injuries and a harrowing recovery. And given the severity of her fall, we are frankly lucky that she survived. Her attacker’s prison sentence is significant — but so were the consequences of his actions. My thoughts are with the Hidalgo family, and I’m grateful for the work that our prosecutors and Wilmington Police Department did to bring the Defendant to justice.” 

Mrs. Hidalgo fell headfirst, striking the sidewalk with the right side of her face and sustaining several severe injuries, including a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a form of brain damage; a subdural hematoma, and a fractured lamina papyracea (also known as an orbital blowout fracture) to her right eye. Mrs. Hidalgo was hospitalized for a month, and required intubation, a medical procedure in which a flexible plastic tube is placed into the patient’s trachea or throat to maintain an open airway to restore breathing or administer medication. She suffered a stroke before being discharged to a rehabilitation facility, where she was treated for an additional month.  

This sentence was secured by Deputy Attorney General Erika Flaschner with the assistance of Paralegal Julia Bacon and Social Workers Crystal Pitts and Donna Lindsey, following an investigation led by Chief Investigating Officer Det. Devon Jones of the Wilmington Police Department.  

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.

DOJ Secures Lengthy Sentence For Pennsylvania Man For Violent Robbery Of Little Italy Resident

Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Thursday, August 31, 2023


Navy blue background featuring the Delaware state seal in the center

A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison for violent assault and robbery. On August 25, 2023, Zykeem Fields, 23, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by probation, by a Superior Court judge. Fields, who lived part-time in Wilmington, pleaded guilty to felony charges of Assault 1st Degree and Robbery 1st Degree following a brutal attack in 2022.  

On September 28, 2022, Fields followed Romeo and Linaflor Hidalgo home from WSFS Bank, where he witnessed them withdrawing a large sum of money. Fields approached Mrs. Hidalgo as she reached the landing of her front porch steps and snatched her purse from her shoulder, pulling her down five concrete steps and inflicting severe brain damage. The robbery occurred on the day before Mrs. Hidalgo’s 83rd birthday. 

“The Defendant’s actions were shocking and callous,” said Attorney General Jennings. “He tracked a senior citizen and robbed her at the threshold of her own home, on the eve of her 83rd birthday. She suffered devastating injuries and a harrowing recovery. And given the severity of her fall, we are frankly lucky that she survived. Her attacker’s prison sentence is significant — but so were the consequences of his actions. My thoughts are with the Hidalgo family, and I’m grateful for the work that our prosecutors and Wilmington Police Department did to bring the Defendant to justice.” 

Mrs. Hidalgo fell headfirst, striking the sidewalk with the right side of her face and sustaining several severe injuries, including a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a form of brain damage; a subdural hematoma, and a fractured lamina papyracea (also known as an orbital blowout fracture) to her right eye. Mrs. Hidalgo was hospitalized for a month, and required intubation, a medical procedure in which a flexible plastic tube is placed into the patient’s trachea or throat to maintain an open airway to restore breathing or administer medication. She suffered a stroke before being discharged to a rehabilitation facility, where she was treated for an additional month.  

This sentence was secured by Deputy Attorney General Erika Flaschner with the assistance of Paralegal Julia Bacon and Social Workers Crystal Pitts and Donna Lindsey, following an investigation led by Chief Investigating Officer Det. Devon Jones of the Wilmington Police Department.  

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.