Others face prison time for rape, gun, and drug charges

A 30-year-old Magnolia man was sentenced to prison in connection with a July 2015 killing in the Simon Circle neighborhood in Dover. Deputy Attorney General Stephen Welch secured the sentence for Erick Morton, after Morton pled guilty to Manslaughter. Morton was identified by surveillance video from municipal cameras that captured him shooting 35-year-old Jamal Weeks of Dover, in the 900 block of North Street. Morton was sentenced by Judge William Witham to 20 years in prison, suspended after 5 years for 6 months of Level IV work release, followed by 1 year of Level III probation and 1 year of Level II probation.

Deputy Attorney General Periann Doko secured a prison sentence for Charles Johnson, 34, of Wilmington. In February 2014, Johnson was arrested after being involved in a heroin deal. Johnson fled from police as they tried to stop his car, throwing money out of the window as he drove. Johnson pled guilty in May 2016 to Drug Dealing (Tier 2 quantity of heroin) and Disregarding a Police Signal. He was sentenced as a habitual offender due to previous violent drug and assault convictions to five years in prison, followed by probation.

Deputy Attorneys General Caterina Gatto and Christina Kontis secured a five-year prison sentence for Malik Moss, 31, of Bear after convicting him at trial in February for Drug Dealing (Tier 4 quantity of heroin), Aggravated Possession of Heroin, Disregarding a Police Officer’s Signal, Possession of Marijuana and Reckless Driving. In April 2014, Moss fled from police during a traffic stop. The car was found abandoned on the front lawn of a nearby residence. A large amount of heroin, some marijuana, and a cell phone were left behind. The vehicle and drugs were linked back to Moss through fingerprint and cellphone analysis.

Deputy Attorney General Sonia Augusthy secured an eight-year prison sentence for 19-year-old Al-Ghaniyy Price of Wilmington. Price pled guilty in April to Maintaining a Drug Property, Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, Possession of Ammunition by a Person Prohibited, and Drug Dealing (Tier 4 quantity of heroin). Price was arrested in May 2015 as part of an investigation into drug activity in the Sparrow Run neighborhood. When police entered his bedroom in his mother’s home, they found more than 150 grams of heroin, a 9-mm handgun, and ammunition. Price was sentenced by Judge John A. Parkins, Jr. to a total of eight years in prison, followed by six months at Level IV, then two years of Level III probation. DAG Augusthy also secured a prison sentence Mik’trell Spriggs, 22, of Sparrow Run, as a result of his conviction in the same drug investigation. Spriggs was charged with selling crack cocaine while on probation for a previous drug dealing conviction. Spriggs was sentenced to a total of eight-and-a-half years at Level V for three counts of Drug Dealing, as well as his Violation of Probation. His prison term will be followed by 6 months at Level IV, and 18 months of Level III probation.

Deputy Attorney General Jan van Amerongen secured a prison sentence for Paul Brunhammer, 34, of Salem, New Jersey. Brunhammer pled guilty in May to Rape Third Degree in a case from 2010. Brunhammer raped the daughter of his ex-girlfriend while he was visiting the mother’s home in Newark. When the victim reported the assault, Brunhammer was incarcerated in New Jersey for an unrelated sexual assault. Brunhammer was returned to Delaware earlier this year to face the new charge after completing his New Jersey sentence for Aggravated Sexual Assault. Judge William C. Carpenter, Jr. sentenced Brunhammer to 25 years in prison, suspended after 10 years for two years of Level III probation, and ordered him to register as a Tier III sex offender.

Misleading charitable solicitations that were misrepresented as going to Delaware fire companies have ended as a result of an investigation and a Cease and Desist Agreement from the Delaware Department of Justice targeted at Firefighter Support Services, Inc., a Michigan organization, and almost $6,000 in contributions will be returned to the Delaware fire community.

The solicitations by Firefighter Support Services took the form of telemarketing calls where the callers would repeatedly use the terms “firefighter” or “firemen.” Under Delaware law, use of certain terms that refer to law enforcement personnel such as “firefighter” or “police” are prohibited unless the caller is actually a bona fide law enforcement officer or employee, or the caller has written permission from a Delaware law enforcement agency to use such terms in their fundraising campaigns. The calls had been brought to the attention of the Delaware Department of Justice by Delaware fire companies who said the calls had no connection to any fire companies in the state, and DOJ alerted the public to the calls in February (https://news.delaware.gov/2016/02/02/attorney-general-warns-delawareans-about-fraudulent-fundraising-calls-to-support-delaware-firefighters-foundation/)

To resolve the violations, the Consumer Protection Unit of DOJ entered into an agreement which sanctions Firefighter Support Services, Inc. for its violations of Delaware law through civil penalties and demands restitution of the near $6,000 in donations from Delawareans since 2011. These restitution amounts will be distributed to the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association, Inc., a local non-profit that counts all 60 Delaware fire companies as members and provides education, training, outreach and other services relevant to the Delaware firefighter community.

“It can never be stated enough how our fire companies protect our communities and it is the least we can do to aggressively pursue those who would trade on Delaware firefighters’ outstanding reputation for fraudulent donations,” Attorney General Matt Denn said. “I appreciate the fire companies that brought it to our attention and Deputy Attorney General Gillian Andrews and Special Investigator Alan Rachko for achieving the resolution in this case.”

Joseph Zeroles, President of the Delaware Volunteer Firefighters Association said, “It is sad when people take advantage of the great work done by the Delaware volunteer fire companies to pray upon unsuspecting citizens. We wish to thank everyone in the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit for their tireless effort in bringing this to resolution.”

The terms of the Cease and Desist Agreement also provide that Firefighter Support Services, Inc. shall not further violate provisions of Delaware’s charitable solicitation laws. In connection with this enforcement action, Firefighter Support Services, Inc. completely ceased its charitable solicitations in Delaware as of February 2016.

If you are interested in donating to your local fire company, the Attorney General encourages you to visit your local firehouse to drop off your donation in person, or donate directly to the fire company another way. A list of all local fire companies in Delaware and their contact information can be found at the Office of the State Fire Marshal: http://statefiremarshal.delaware.gov/information/fire_companies.shtml.

Anyone who suspects they have received a suspicious solicitation, the Attorney General encourages donors to call the toll-free Consumer Hotline at 1-800-220-5424 or email the Consumer Protection Unit at consumer.protection@delaware.gov.

Combination Would Significantly Reduce Competition In Delaware Medicare Advantage Market

Delaware’s Attorney General will join the U.S. Department of Justice and eight other attorneys general in opposing the merger of health insurance companies Aetna and Humana – the third and fifth largest health insurance companies in the country – arguing that the combination would reduce competition in Delaware and drive up prices.

Both Aetna and Humana sell Medicare Advantage plans in New Castle and Kent counties, which are offered as an alternative to traditional Medicare and a merger would result in high market share by the combined entity in those two counties.

“This proposed merger would very significantly reduce competition for health insurance through Medicare Advantage plans in the counties that contain three-quarters of our state’s population,” Attorney General Matt Denn said. “At a time when health care costs are already a concern, this would move Delaware in the wrong direction.”

The complaint by the USDOJ and the attorneys general of eight states and the District of Columbia filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia explains, “Today, Aetna and Humana compete across the country to sell Medicare Advantage plans, a market-based alternative to traditional Medicare. This competition benefits Americans who can least afford health insurance. It benefits seniors, who visit doctors and hospitals more than twice as much as the average person and have less income than the average American household.”

The challenge to the Aetna-Humana merger also is based on reduced competition between Aetna and Humana nationally in offering health coverage on state health care exchanges, but Humana does not currently participate in the exchange in Delaware. USDOJ and a number of states also filed a challenge to the proposed merger of health insurance companies Anthem and Cigna. Anthem does not operate in Delaware.

A release from USDOJ announcing the federal-state action, including a link to the filed complaint, can be found HERE.

A complaint filed by Attorney General Matt Denn’s office asks the state Superior Court to declare the Gold Club near Wilmington a criminal nuisance property and to order that it be closed.

As stated in the complaint, the action comes as the result of numerous arrests at, near or coming from the property for shootings, vehicle thefts, illegal drug possession, assaults, stabbings and other illegal activity. There have been shootings in August 2012, March 2014, May 2014, September 2015 and this past Sunday, November 15, 2015, with the most recent shooting a homicide.

The complaint was filed under the under the state’s Criminal Nuisance Abatement Act, which empowers to Attorney General “to eliminate locations that otherwise attract criminals, violence and the threat of violence,” as stated in Title 10, Section 7102 of the Delaware Code.

“Police have been called to the Gold Club at least 237 times in the last four years,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “Shutting the doors of a business which consistently brings crime, drugs, and violence to the area is in the interest of public safety.”

The property where the club stands, 1031 South Market St, Wilmington is owned by the Kent Manor Inn, and the Gold Club itself is owned by PML Clubs, Inc.  Both Kent Manor Inn, Inc. and PML Clubs, Inc. Kent Manor Inn, Inc. and PML Clubs, Inc. are owned and operated by Michael Rose.

A copy of the complaint can be found HERE.