Also, gang members and other defendants sentenced to prison time

A Superior Court judge sentenced Daniel Santucci, 25, of Elsmere, to life plus 50 years in prison for raping a small child then throwing her into a pond. In April 2017, Santucci lured a 4-year-old girl into his car at a community in Pike Creek. Santucci then sexually assaulted the child and threw her in the pond in Banning Park near Newport. The child was found walking in the area by a passing motorist. In August 2018, Santucci pled guilty to Attempted Murder First Degree, Kidnapping First Degree, and Rape Second Degree. The sentence is the maximum allowed by law in this case. Deputy Attorneys General Joseph Grubb and Jan van Amerongen prosecuted the case, with assistance from paralegal Stacey Coupe, social worker Claudia Melton, and support specialist Ted Griffin. Detectives Tom Purse and Dave DiNardo of the New Castle County Police Department were the Chief Investigating Officers.

Four members of the M-13 gang, a group operating in the area of the Pine Valley Apartments in New Castle, were sentenced to time in prison for multiple charges, illegal gang activity and weapons offenses. Deputy Attorneys General Cynthia Hurlock and Michael Cooksey prosecuted the cases.

• Darkpanah Barclay, 18, of New Castle, pled guilty in July to Illegal Gang Participation, Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon (Firearm), and Resisting Arrest. A Superior Court judge sentenced Barclay to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of work release, then 2 years of probation.
• Mayhew Watson, 19, of New Castle, pled guilty in July to Gang Participation, Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon, and Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited (juvenile adjudication) and sentenced by a Superior Court judge to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of home confinement, then 2 years of GPS monitored probation.
• Tahkai Mayfield, 19, of New Castle, pled guilty in July to Gang Participation and Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon. The Court sentenced him to 1 year in prison, followed by 6 months of home confinement, then 2 years of probation.
• Chester Myers, 21, of New Castle, pled guilty in September to Gang Participation and was also found in violation of probation earlier this year. Myers was sentenced to a total of 7 months in prison followed by 1 year of probation.

Deputy Attorney General Timothy Maguire secured a prison sentence for a Wilmington man convicted of drug and weapons charges. In September 2017, police stopped a car driven by Robert Potts, 35, for a light being out. During the stop, officers found a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, a 9mm magazine loaded with live ammunition, and more than 70 bags of heroin. In September 2018, a Superior Court jury convicted Potts of Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, Possession of Ammunition by a Person Prohibited, Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon, Drug Dealing, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. A judge sentenced Potts, barred from having a gun because of previous drug convictions, to 12 years in prison, followed by 6 months of either home confinement or work release, then 2 years of probation.

A 57-year-old former hockey coach received a 2-year prison sentence for the sexual assault of 2 of his former juvenile players. From the late 1980s into the early 1990s, Walter Ferinden of Whiting, NJ, committed acts of sexual contact on numerous occasions. In June 2018, Ferinden pled guilty to 2 counts of Unlawful Sexual Contact Second Degree. A Superior Court judge sentenced Ferinden to 2 years in prison followed by 2 years of probation. Ferinden, who must also register as a Tier 2 sex offender, also pled guilty in New Jersey to sexual contact charges involving two additional victims, and faces an agreed upon 3 years of incarceration. Deputy Attorney General Jenna Milecki prosecuted the case with the assistance of social worker Lisa Rapko and paralegal Jayna Quillen.

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