21,000 permanent absentee voters – overwhelmingly the sick, disabled, and military servicemembers – set to lose permanent absentee status  

56,000 Delawareans voted early in 2022’s general election

The Department of Justice will move to appeal a Superior Court judge’s ruling curtailing voting rights, and will support legislative efforts to pass constitutional amendments expanding and enshrining voting rights, Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Tuesday. 

Late Friday afternoon, a Superior Court judge issued a surprise ruling both denying the State’s motion to dismiss a partisan challenge to Delaware’s early voting law, and issuing an unsolicited judgment striking down early voting and the state’s 14-year-old permanent absentee voter law. The permanent absentee statute passed the General Assembly unanimously, including with the support of then-Rep. Gerald Hocker, the plaintiff in the Superior Court case. 

“We respectfully but fundamentally disagree with this ruling and will appeal,” said AG Jennings. “No idea that requires silence to survive has any place in a democracy. But that is precisely the fight we’re having: in statehouses and courthouses alike, extremists are trying to empower losing ideas by eroding the right to vote itself.” 

AG Jennings also urged lawmakers to support efforts to expand voting rights through constitutional amendments, beginning with Senate Bill 3, sponsored by Sen. Darius Brown. 

In the last election, 56,000 Delawareans used early voting and roughly 21,000 — including veterans, the disabled, and caregivers — used permanent absentee ballots. If it withstands appeal, Friday’s ruling would impact all of them in the November general election. The ruling does not impact the April 2 presidential primary.  

“Regardless of your party, where you live, or how you vote, you deserve every chance to exercise that right. Whether you voted for me or not, this is your right and I will never stop fighting for it.” 

Read the Attorney General’s full remarks as prepared for delivery here.  Video of the comments is available here.

Two people have pleaded guilty in relation to the assault and fatal shooting of 19-year-old Za’Quan Blackwell. On February 2, Ah’Kee Flonnory of Wilmington pleaded guilty to Manslaughter, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony; Armani Rogers, 20, of New Castle pleaded guilty to Assault 2^nd Degree. 

“This was a tragic loss and yet another reminder of what is at stake in the fight against gun violence,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “The victim was robbed from his family and community by a senseless act of violence. I am grateful to our team and the Wilmington Police Department for their outstanding work on this case. I hope it will bring some comfort to the family as they grieve and heal.” 

“The outcome of this investigation reflects the hard work of our detectives, as well as our relentless efforts to deliver justice on behalf of victims of crime,” said Chief Wilfredo Campos. “We will continue our efforts to hold offenders like these accountable for their actions.” 

On September 14, 2022, Flonnory drove Rogers to exchange custody of a child that she shared with Blackwell when an argument ensued. Rogers sprayed Blackwell with pepper spray before returning to the vehicle. Blackwell approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and began talking with Flonnory, who then extended a handgun out of the window and shot Blackwell twice. Blackwell was taken to Christiana Hospital where he died of his wounds. 

Flonnory will be sentenced by a Superior Court judge at a date to be determined. Rogers was sentenced to eight years in prison, suspended for one year of probation. 

A Seaford pastor has been arrested and charged with 10 felony counts of Dealing in Child Pornography, Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Thursday. 

James R. Dryden, 74, was arrested February 15 following an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) investigation led by the Delaware Department of Justice and Delaware State Police. ICAC’s investigation was spurred by multiple CyberTips generated by Microsoft warning that Dryden’s IP address had accessed and downloaded child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Upon receiving the CyberTips, detectives from the Delaware State Police and investigators from the Department of Justice contacted Dryden at his home and, following a forensic examination of his personal devices, discovered additional CSAM.  

“The evidence in this investigation is deeply disturbing,” said Attorney General Jennings. “Nothing is more important than protecting our kids, and I’m grateful for the members of the ICAC Task Force who dedicate their lives to keeping our most vulnerable citizens safe.” 

Dryden has been a children’s pastor with Stein Highway Church of God for more than 20 years. He is not charged with contacting a child, and investigators are not currently aware of any victims affiliated with the church; however, given the nature of Dryden’s work and the fact that it brought him into regular contact with children, the State is seeking any information the public may have about this case. Anyone with information should contact the Delaware ICAC Task Force at (302) 739-2030. 

Dryden was arraigned and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on $500,000 cash bail. The DOJ and DSP remind the public that the charges in this case are allegations, and that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  
 

The Delaware Department of Justice secured a felony conviction in the first of several pending cases stemming from an ongoing investigation by the Delaware Division of Revenue and the Department of Justice into fraud related to the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program. That program provided Delaware residents with a one-time $300.00 check and was intended to provide relief to Delaware families for rising costs after the COVID pandemic.

On December 18, 2023, Chris Maldonado, 35, of New Castle pleaded guilty to one count of Forgery 2^nd degree in New Castle County Superior Court. As part of the plea agreement, he was sentenced to two years of incarceration, which was suspended for six months of probation. Also as part of the plea agreement, Maldonado pled guilty to one count of Carrying a Concealed Dangerous Instrument, graded as a Class A Misdemeanor, which stemmed from an unrelated incident.

“My office takes attempts to scam taxpayer dollars very seriously,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “Anyone who thinks it doesn’t matter or they won’t get caught is on notice. My office is prepared to investigate and prosecute these cases, and we will bring you to justice.”

In May of 2022, Maldonado remotely deposited his valid $300.00 Relief Rebate check. Then, in August of 2022, Maldonado altered the same check to a higher dollar amount and remotely deposited the altered check. The bank ultimately rejected the altered check and no taxpayer funds were lost as a result of Maldonado’s fraud.

The Delaware Division of Revenue and the Delaware Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation into fraud related to the 2022 Relief Rebate Program includes cases where taxpayer funds were ultimately lost due to criminal conduct. The investigation also includes numerous ongoing matters including forged and altered checks, stolen checks and fabricated checks.

Anyone with information pertaining to fraud related to the 2022 Delaware Relief Rebate Program is asked to contact Special Investigator David M. Smith of the Delaware Division of Revenue Criminal Investigation Unit at (302) 577-8958.

Attorney General Kathy Jennings today co-led a coalition of 18 attorneys general filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The coalition urged the court to revisit an opinion striking down a Pennsylvania law prohibiting individuals under the age of 21 from carrying concealed weapons in public and imposing additional restrictions during declared states of emergency. Delaware, New Jersey, and Illinois were the lead states on the brief.

In the brief, AG Jennings asks the full court to review a recent opinion in Lara v. Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, a lawsuit challenging a Pennsylvania law that restricts the issuance of concealed carry weapons permits to people ages 21 and up.

“Some things are just a matter of common sense,” said AG Jennings. “Deep red and deep blue states alike have laws that govern concealed carry or other access to firearms for people under 21. The panel ruling in this case is inconsistent with more than a century of legal precedent and, if allowed to stand, will set back the states’ ability to curtail gun violence at a time when guns are the leading cause of death for children.”

The court’s opinion, if not corrected, will raise questions about the constitutionality of similar statutes in more than 30 other states with age restrictions on firearms access. The coalition explained in the brief that those statutes are constitutional because they are consistent with our country’s historical tradition because similar laws have existed for over 150 years. Jennings and the attorneys general argued that the opinion should be revisited because the court’s reasoning, if adopted elsewhere, could threaten the states’ ability to defend and enforce all manner of firearms regulations.

The brief is the most recent step in Attorney General Jennings’ work to address gun violence throughout Delaware and across the nation. Gun violence in Delaware has fallen by 20% since the pandemic, and violent crime has reached an all-time low, due in part to a variety of enforcement initiatives — including gang prosecutions, law enforcement intelligence sharing programs, gun trafficking indictments, new bail laws aimed at violent offenders, and a high conviction rate against gun offenders.

Jennings is an outspoken advocate for permit-to-purchase legislation, which is currently awaiting consideration in Delaware’s General Assembly. She has also supported gun safety laws that ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines, ban unserialized “ghost guns,” limit handgun access to adults over 21, and enable the State to hold gun dealers accountable for negligent business practices that enable gun violence.

Joining Jennings in filing the amicus brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.