Robbery, burglary, forgery, patient abuse cases also resolved

A 2017 shooting in Laurel left an 18-year-old dead, and will lead to prison for the 19-year-old shooter. Deputy Attorneys General Casey L. Ewart and Kevin Gardner secured a guilty plea to Manslaughter, 3 counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and one count of Reckless Endangering 1st Degree in the case of Stephon Jackson of Laurel. In January 2017, Jackson shot and killed Mekell Horsey while at the Wexford Village Apartment Complex on Sunset Drive in Laurel. Jackson faces a minimum sentence of 11 years in prison when sentenced by a Superior Court judge later this year, with a maximum possible sentence of 105 years. Detective Jon King of the Delaware State Police Homicide Unit was the lead investigator, while DOJ social worker Laurel Braunstein and administrative specialist Angelique Waters assisted with the prosecution of the case.

Two men responsible for robbing multiple businesses throughout New Castle County armed with guns received prison sentences from a Superior Court judge. In September 2017, Brandon Dixon, 30, of Middletown, pled guilty to two counts of Robbery Second Degree, Conspiracy Second Degree, Possession of a Firearm During Commission of a Felony, and a Violation of Probation. The Court sentenced Dixon as a habitual offender because of previous violent felony convictions for robbery, burglary and weapons offenses to 25 years in prison, followed by 6 months of either home confinement or work release, then 2 years of probation. Darius Johns, 27, of Wilmington pled guilty in October 2017 to Robbery First Degree, Robbery Second Degree, Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, and Conspiracy Second Degree. Johns, also a habitual offender for robbery and weapons convictions, received a sentence of 20 years in prison, followed by 6 months of either home confinement or work release, then 2 years of probation. Deputy Attorneys General Jamie McCloskey and Kelly Sheridan prosecuted the cases. Detective Anthony Tenebruso investigated the case for the State Police, while Detectives Joseph Womer and Julia Fabbroni investigated the cases for Middletown PD. Paralegal Lisa Loikith and Social Workers Meghan Fisher and Courtney Cochran also worked on this case.

A 37-year-old habitual offender could face at least 8 years in prison after his burglary conviction by a Superior Court jury. Deputy Attorney General William Leonard secured a conviction for Nathaniel Marsh of Wilmington to Burglary Second Degree, 2 counts of Conspiracy Second Degree, Theft Greater Than $1500, and Criminal Mischief Less Than $1000. In July 2017, Marsh took part in a burglary in the 100 block Talbot Drive in New Castle, breaking in through a window and taking items including large screen televisions, video game system, and collector’s coins. A habitual offender due to previous violent felony convictions for robbery, assault, and reckless endangering, Marsh faces 8 years to life in prison when sentenced by the court later this year.

Deputy Attorney General Kate Keller secured a guilty plea to forgery and falsifying records from a 44-year-old Smyrna woman who was working at the Delaware Psychiatric Center as a certified nursing assistant. Daniella Seneus pled guilty to Forgery Third Degree and Falsification of Business Records. In December 2016, Seneus, a certified nursing assistant, falsely indicated on an record that she had performed her required 15 minute face checks on a resident when she had not. That resident was found dead of a medical condition the next morning, and no foul play was involved. A Superior Court judge sentenced Seneus to one year of probation on each charge. Seneus will also be referred to the Adult Abuse Registry. Detective Dave Myers from Delaware State Police investigated the case.

A 50-year-old working as a security guard at the Delaware Psychiatric Center pled no contest to Patient Abuse for having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a DPC resident. Deputy Attorney General Kate Keller secured the plea from John Fraim of Wilmington. Fraim made unwanted advances over the course of 2 months during the summer of 2017. A Superior Court judge sentenced Fraim to one year of probation. In addition, Fraim will be referred to the Adult Abuse Registry. Detective Amy Lloyd of Delaware State Police handled the investigation.

A 21-year-old Wilmington man faces mandatory life in prison for the murder of 22-year-old Christian Serrano in 2016. Jose Moreta was found guilty of Murder 1st Degree, three counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Conspiracy 1st Degree, Attempted Murder 1st Degree, Reckless Endangerment 1st Degree, Criminal Trespassing 1st Degree, and Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon. Gunshots were reported on March 2016 and responding Wilmington Police Department officers found Serrano in the 200 block of N. Connell Street with fatal gunshot wounds. Deputy Attorneys General Joseph Grubb and William Leonard secured the guilty verdict in a bench trial for Moreta on January 17, 2018. The Chief Investigating Officer Detective Bob Fox, Paralegal Jaime Prater, Special Investigator Willie Santiago, and Social Worker Jen Kutney all assisted with the prosecution of the case. Sentencing is scheduled for April 20, 2018.

Deputy Attorneys General Eric Zubrow and Phillip Casale secured a guilty plea from a 33-year-old Newark man who murdered his ex-girlfriend. In January 2017, Jerry Blankenship told New Castle County Police officers that he killed the victim in her apartment in the 700 block of Vinings Way in Newark. New Castle County officers went to apartment and found the victim with a fatal head wound in her bedroom. Blankenship pled guilty to Murder 2nd Degree and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony and faces up to a life sentence in prison. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

Luis Cabrera was sentenced to two life sentences in prison without parole by a Superior Court judge on Friday for two murders in Wilmington 22 years ago. In 2001, Cabrera was convicted by a jury of the murders of Brandon Saunders and Vaughn Rowe, who were found shot in Rockford Park in January 1996, and he was sentenced to death. Before Cabrera’s postconviction proceedings were completed, the Delaware Supreme Court found the death penalty procedures unconstitutional. Because Cabrera was no longer subject to the death penalty, the Superior Court vacated his death sentences and imposed two life sentences. Cabrera’s convictions were affirmed.

A 31-year-old Dagsboro man was sentenced to 90 years in prison for crimes, including rape and attempted murder, that he committed against a series of women. Deputy Attorneys General Casey L. Ewart and Rebecca E. Anderson secured a guilty plea from Temourise Taylor to a charge of Attempted Murder 1st Degree, and the defendant pled no contest to Rape 2nd Degree, Unlawful Imprisonment 1st Degree, Strangulation, and Terroristic Threatening. Taylor, a serial rapist, would get women into his car, drive them to a secluded location, then rape them while threatening to kill them and/or physically beating them. In the summer of 2015, Taylor punched and strangled a woman who tried to resist his attack. During the summer of 2016 Taylor raped two women, physically beating one and threatening the other by saying that he had a knife. In December 2016, Taylor stabbed his final victim after she resisted his attempt to rape her. A Superior Court judge sentenced Taylor to a total of 90 years in prison (60 years for Attempted Murder 1st Degree, 25 years for Rape 2nd Degree, and 5 years for Strangulation). Should he ever be released, Taylor would be placed on home confinement, followed by probation with GPS monitoring, for the Unlawful Imprisonment 1st Degree and Terroristic Threatening charges. While in prison he will have to complete sex offender treatment and anger management counseling, and Taylor is now a Tier 3 sex offender. Detective Mark Doughty of the Delaware State Police was the lead investigator, assisted by other detectives in the Major Crimes Unit at Troop 4. DOJ Social Worker Carla Ennals, DOJ Administrative Specialist Angie Waters, and DOJ Paralegal Veronica McKain also assisted in the prosecution.

Deputy Attorney General Dennis Kelleher prosecuted a case involving a break-in and assault against an elderly woman. Ronald Keis, 51, of Dover, was found guilty at a bench trial and sentenced by a Superior Court judge to a total of 68 years in prison for charges of Robbery 1st Degree, Home Invasion, and Assault 2nd Degree. In February 2017, Keis broke into an elderly woman’s home on Hickory Dale Drive in Dover and proceeded to assault and rob her.

A 41-year-old Wilmington man was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the homicide of a New Castle woman. In July 2016, Martin L. Taylor was confronted by the victim, Whitney White, at his residence on the 2900 block of N. Market Street regarding missing items from a mutual acquaintance’s home. Taylor and White got into an altercation over the missing items which resulted in a fatal laceration to White’s neck. Taylor, a habitual offender, pled Guilty but Mentally Ill to Manslaughter and Possession of a Deadly Weapon During Commission of a Felony. Taylor was declared a habitual offender based on previous convictions of Assault 2nd Degree, Burglary 2nd Degree, and Distribution, Delivery, or Possession of a Controlled Substance Within 300 Feet of a Park. Deputy Attorney General Eric Zubrow secured the 45-year prison sentence for Taylor with assistance from Deputy Attorney General Andrew Vella, DOJ Social Worker Donna Lindsey, Paralegal Stacey Coupe, and Administrative Assistant Evelyn Davis.

Deputy Attorneys General Barzilai Axelrod and William Leonard, assisted by Paralegals Bridgitt Martin and Jessica Ascione, secured a prison sentence for a 31-year-old Wilmington man on drug charges. Tyrone Anderson, along with his co-defendants, were responsible for distributing heroin in 2016 in the Belvedere neighborhood of Wilmington. Between April and August of 2016, Detective Michelle Burrus, Detective John Mancuso, and other officers of the New Castle County Police Department conducted an investigation that included numerous undercover purchases of heroin from Anderson. Following a jury trial, a Superior Court judge sentenced Anderson on four counts of Drug Dealing Heroin and Conspiracy 2nd Degree to 20 years in prison followed by another year on his Violations of Probation. John Trotter, Marcus Jones, and Thomas Stegar are all scheduled to be sentenced in February 2018.

Jermaine Tingle, a habitual offender, faces a minimum mandatory 19 year prison sentence for drug dealing and related charges. Deputy Attorneys General Erika Flaschner and Allison Abessinio convicted Tingle, 39, of Wilmington in a jury trial before a Superior Court judge of two counts of Drug Dealing Heroin, two counts of Aggravated Possession, two counts of Conspiracy 2nd, Drug Dealing Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited. This was a joint investigation by Delaware State Police and the Wilmington Police Department. Delaware State Police troopers searched one residence associated with Tingle while officers with the Wilmington Police Department searched a residence and vehicle associated with Tingle. The searches yielded over 1,300 bags of heroin and $23,077 cash. Tingle was declared a habitual offender based on felony convictions for Burglary 2nd Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Drug Dealing, and Conspiracy 2nd Degree, which influenced the minimum mandatory sentence. Wilmington Police Department Detective Justin Wilkers and DOJ Special Investigator Cliff Dempsey investigated the case.

Also Burglary, Unlawful Sexual Contact guilty verdict in Kent County

A 24-year-old Newark man will spend 30 years in prison after his sentencing by a Superior Court judge for charges of Murder Second Degree, Assault First Degree, Robbery First Degree and Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited. Deputy Attorneys General Sonia Augusthy and Dan McBride secured the sentence for Isaac Lecompte. In 2014, Lecompte and accomplices robbed and murdered Ira Hopkins in the Village of Windhover apartment complex (now Evergreen Apartments at Christiana Reserve). Donna Lindsey was the social worker and Stacey Coupe was the paralegal on the case.

A 31-year-old Wilmington man with repeated gun charges was sentenced by a Superior Court judge to 10 years of minimum mandatory prison time followed by 6 months home confinement, then 18 months of probation. Deputy Attorney General Amanda DiLiberto secured a plea to the charge of Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited. Gibson was considered one of New Castle County Police Department’s most violent offenders with prior convictions for Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, Possession of a Ammunition by a Person Prohibited, and Trafficking in Cocaine. When stopped by police in early 2017, Brandon Gibson fled and concealed a firearm inside his neighbor’s stove. Gibson currently has pending charges for violating a no contact order for an act of intimidation related to the case. DOJ Paralegal Jessica Ascione and Administrative Assistant Val Rocha assisted with the case.

Deputy Attorneys General Marc Petrucci and Rebecca Song secured a prison sentence for 31-year-old Wilmington man, Haywood Johnson, after he pled guilty to Possession Of A Firearm By A Person Prohibited and Aggravated Possession Of Heroin. The Street-Crime Unit of the Wilmington Police Department was instrumental in the investigation and arrest of Johnson. When the Street-Crime Unit found Johnson in possession of drugs and a loaded firearm, he attempted to flee. He was sentenced by a Superior Court judge to at least 7 years of minimum mandatory time in prison followed by 18 months of probation. He must also forfeit his gun and ammunition.

A Newark man who solicited a 15-year-old female for nude photos on the instant messaging app Kik and sent her nude photos of himself will spend 5 years in prison. Deputy Attorney General Diana Dunn secured the sentence for Michael Imwold, 19, who pled guilty to two counts of Sexual Solicitation of a Child Under 18 to Engage in Prohibited Sexual Act. He was sentenced by a Superior Court judge to 5 years in prison, followed by probation, and will register as a Tier 3 sex offender upon his release. DOJ Child Predator Unit Chief Investigating Officer Dennis Campbell assisted with the case.

Deputy Attorney General Sean Motoyoshi secured a conviction for Richard McLamb, a 43-year-old man from Clayton. A Superior Court jury convicted McLamb of Burglary First Degree, Unlawful Sexual Contact Third Degree and Resisting Arrest. In June 2016, McLamb unlawfully entered his neighbor’s home and sexually assaulted her while she was alone and sleeping on the couch. McLamb was taken into custody shortly after running from Clayton Police. Detective Ryan Wright of the Delaware State Police, DOJ social worker Lorraine Freese, paralegal Sue Balick, administrative assistant Samantha Huey and investigator Pete Fraley assisted with the case. McLamb is scheduled to be sentenced by a Superior Court judge on February 27, 2018 and faces between 2 and 17 years in prison.

A New Castle County Superior Court jury returned guilty verdicts on all charges against Christopher Rivers, 33, of Wilmington, for the 2013 killing of his business partner Joseph Connell, and Connell’s wife, Olga, both 39, of Wilmington. The jury found Rivers guilty of two counts of Murder First Degree, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Conspiracy First Degree, and Criminal Solicitation First Degree.

Rivers’s co-defendant, Dominique Benson, 25, of Wilmington, was convicted of Conspiracy First Degree, but jurors could not reach a verdict on the charges of Murder and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. The State will retry Benson on those charges.

Joseph and Olga Connell were killed outside of their home on Paladin Drive in Wilmington. Rivers planned the murders in order to collect on an insurance policy that he and Joseph Connell took on each other in order to protect their business. The state believes Benson was hired as one of the gunmen.

“We are gratified that this jury found Christopher Rivers responsible for the heinous murders of Joseph and Olga Connell, and hope the verdict brings some measure of closure to their family members,” said State Prosecutor Kathleen Jennings. “We’re also grateful the jury found that Dominique Benson conspired with Mr. Rivers to commit these murders, and we will most certainly retry him on the remaining counts. I want to thank the prosecution team of Deputy Attorneys General Colleen Norris, Karin Volker, and Jenna Milecki as well as Kim Moro and Evelyn Smith, who prosecuted the case, and the New Castle County Police Department for their fine investigative work in this case, led by Detective James Leonard.”

Maurice Cruz-Webster, 21, of Wilmington, charged with the January 2015 killing of 23-year-old Kyrell Lewis in front of an Arbor Place home in New Castle, was found guilty of First Degree Murder, Reckless Endangering First Degree and two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony by a New Castle County Superior Court jury this week.

Deputy Attorneys General James Kriner and Annemarie Puit prosecuted the case, leading to Cruz-Webster’s conviction.

Cruz-Webster and Lewis became involved in an argument outside of Lewis’s home on Parma Avenue on January 9, 2015, during which Cruz-Webster fired a handgun seven times, striking Lewis several times. Witnesses who heard and saw the argument called police. Lewis was taken to Christiana Hospital where he died as a result of the shooting.

“This verdict reinforces the importance of witnesses coming forward to help bring criminals to justice,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “Thanks to eyewitness cooperation, and the outstanding work of our prosecutors and the New Castle County Police, a jury has brought justice to Kyrell Lewis’s family, and made our streets safer.”

When sentenced in March 11, 2016, Cruz-Webster faces a mandatory life sentence.