Wilmington – Today, David Salasky was sentenced to life in prison for the September 2011 death of New Castle County Police officer Joseph Szczerba.

“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with Lt. Szczerba, his wife and family – as they have been every day since this senseless murder,” Attorney General Beau Biden said. “Today’s sentence reflects not only how seriously our society takes crimes committed against police officers; they also highlight the incredible daily sacrifice that police officers and their families make to keep us safe.”

On September 16, 2011, after responding to a report of a theft from a motor vehicle and disorderly person in New Castle, Lt. Szczerba observed and approached David Salasky, a subject who matched the suspect description. A foot pursuit ensued and resulted in a struggle, during which Sgt. Szczerba suffered fatal stab wounds. Salasky continued to actively resist by fighting other officers, two of whom sustained injuries.

Salasky, age 34, was indicted by the New Castle County Grand Jury on multiple counts of murder, burglary, weapons, and assault charges in December 2011. On September 30, 2013, Salasky pled Guilty but Mentally Ill to 15 felony charges, including 2 counts of Murder 1st Degree for the death of Sgt. Szczerba, along with 4 counts of Possession of Deadly Weapon During Commission of Felony, 2 counts of Possession of a Deadly Weapon by Person Prohibited, 1 count of Resisting Arrest, 1 count of Attempted Robbery 1st Degree, 1 count of Assault 2nd Degree, and 4 counts of Burglary 3rd Degree. Delaware law requires that the Judge make an independent determination that Salasky was mentally ill at the time of the crime before imposting sentence, and at a hearing this morning Superior Court Judge William C. Carpenter, Jr. found based on substantial medical documentation that Salasky suffered from sustained mental illness. Judge Carpenter subsequently sentenced Salasky to the maximum sentence under the law: 2 life prison terms without the possibility of parole, plus 157 additional years in prison.

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Striking down prosecution of individual who falsified background check information would weaken efforts to keep guns away from criminals and other prohibited persons

WILMINGTON – Attorney General Beau Biden and a coalition of nine other attorneys general have a filed a brief with the Supreme Court of the United States supporting a federal prosecution under a key component of the law that requires buyers of firearms to accurately disclose their identities when undergoing a background check.

The brief was filed in the case of Abramski v. United States, in which a Virginia man is challenging his conviction under a federal law after he purchased a weapon for a relative, but claimed the gun was for himself. Federal law requires that firearms purchaser provide accurate and truthful information when they fill out paperwork to undergo the background checks required under federal law.  Abramski is challenging his conviction because the relative he bought the weapon for was allowed to have a weapon under federal law. Biden and his colleagues argue that striking down the conviction would “gut” federal and state laws aimed stopped what are known as “straw purchases” — an individual claiming to be the person buying a weapon and then giving it over to another individual who in reality is the true owner.

“The federal background check system has made us safer by stopping more than 2 million criminals and other dangerous individuals from buying guns,” Biden said. “In Delaware, we enhanced our background check law last year by requiring checks for most private firearms transactions. A key component of the federal background check law is the requirement that the potential buyers properly identify themselves. Removing that requirement will weaken the background check system and make it easier for criminals to buy weapons.”

Biden and his fellow Attorneys General argue that weakening laws against straw purchases will make it easier for criminals and other persons prohibited from possessing weapons under federal and state laws to get around background check requirements and obtain guns.

“Even now, straw purchases are frequently used to circumvent the federal requirements,” the Attorneys General wrote in their brief. “Some straw purchasers conceal an actual buyer who is ineligible to possess a gun, of course, but others conceal actual buyers who wish to withhold their identities for other reasons – to obscure a high volume of gun purchases, for example, or to avoid being traced to the gun after it is used in a planned crime. If federal law prohibiting false statements in purchases from federally licensed dealers is rolled back to permit a straw purchases to conceal the true nature of the sale, would-be criminals will be able to acquire and transport untraceable firearms across state lines with relative ease, defeating (states’) efforts to reduce gun violence.”

Biden was joined by the Attorneys General of Hawaii, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Oregon, and the District of Columbia.

In Delaware last year, legislation supported by Biden sought to further clamp down on straw purchases by requiring the timely reporting to law enforcement of lost and stolen firearms. The law targets individuals who lawfully purchase a weapon but then give it to a criminal or other prohibited person, and then claim the weapon was lost or stolen when questioned by police.

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Two year-old found by commuter in the middle of busy Wilmington thoroughfare during rush hour

Wilmington – The Delaware Attorney General’s Office yesterday secured the conviction of the manager of a Wilmington daycare center after a toddler under her care wandered away unattended from the facility and onto a busy city street earlier this year.

“This defendant was responsible for the wellbeing of the children under her care and her negligence in failing to secure them safely inside could have resulted in serious injury or death if not for the quick thinking of a good Samaritan.” Attorney General Biden said.  “Fortunately, as a result of this criminal conviction she is prohibited from working in a facility that serves children.”

On March 21, 2013 a two year-old toddler enrolled at Early Foundations Preschool, located at 2511 West 4^th Street, was found standing in the middle of 4^th Street by a commuter during the morning rush hour.  The commuter secured the child, determined that the child was under the care of Early Foundations, returned the child to the Center, and took steps to notify the police.  The mother of the child learned of the incident later that day from an older sibling of the child and also reported it to the police.  A subsequent investigation led by Wilmington Police and including the Fire Marshall’s office and the Office of Child Care Licensing of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families revealed that neither the main exterior door nor an interior half-door of the facility could be property secured.  Investigators learned that employees had previously brought these malfunctions to the attention of Janet Fowler, the manager of the childcare center, on multiple occasions.  Fowler refused to replace the locks and instead instructed employees to use a pliers to attempt to secure the exterior door’s deadbolt and to lift the half-door to attempt to align the slide lock with the door jam.   These malfunctions led directly to the toddler’s ability to wander out of the facility and onto the busy street outside.

Fowler, age 48, of New Castle, was arrested by Wilmington Police on April 29 and charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, with each count representing a child who was present in the facility at the time of the offense.  Yesterday, following a trial in Family Court, Commissioner Mary Much found Fowler guilty of all counts, sentenced her to one year of probation and ordered her to pay a $300 fine.  As a result of the conviction, Fowler is barred from working in a facility that serves children during the term of her probation.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Phyllis Scully of the Attorney General’s Family Division.

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Georgetown – Attorney General Beau Biden announced today that his office has secured the conviction of a Sussex County woman who was charged with abusing an elderly patient at a Seaford nursing home.

“We have a special obligation to look out for the most vulnerable members of our community, including residents of nursing homes and patients in healthcare facilities who often can’t speak up and speak out,” Biden said.  “That’s why we use our broad authority under state and federal law to hold individuals who mistreat them accountable for their crimes.”

In late February, the Seaford Police Department referred a report of patient abuse to the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which opened an investigation.  The investigation revealed that during a work shift at the Methodist Manor House on February 24, 2013, Anne Nunemann, a Certified Nursing Assistant at the facility, placed large trash bag over an 89 year-old resident’s head as she sat in her wheelchair in the facility.  Fortunately, the victim, who suffered from severe dementia, did not sustain physical injury.  The defendant was terminated from her position at the Seaford nursing home as a result of the incident.

As a result of its investigation, staff from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit arrested Nunemann on May 3, 2013 and charged her with one count each of patient abuse and mistreatment of an impaired adult.  On October 15, after a two-day trial in Sussex County Superior Court, the jury convicted Nunemann, age 29 of Delmar, on all counts.  Judge E. Scott Bradley immediately imposed a sentence of six months of intensive probation and ordered her not to work during that time in a facility that provides care to the elderly.  As a result of her conviction, Delaware officials are notifying the U.S. Department of Health and Social Services which, under federal law is authorized to bar Nunemann from working in any facility that receives payment from any federal health care program for a minimum of five years.  The Attorney General’s office has also provided notice of the conviction to Delaware’s Division of Long Term Care Residents Protection so that the defendant can be placed on the State’s Adult Abuse Registry.

The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is charged with protecting residents who receive Medicaid funds and the taxpayers who support the Medicaid Program.  The Unit’s team of prosecutors, investigators, and other support staff prosecutes patient abuse, neglect, mistreatment, and financial exploitation in nursing homes and other facilities that receive Medicaid funds, and investigates healthcare providers who defraud the Medicaid program.

Biden encouraged anyone who may know of Medicaid fraud or who suspects patient abuse, neglect, mistreatment, and financial exploitation in nursing homes and other facilities to contact the Delaware Medicaid Fraud Control Hotline at (302) 577-5000.

A Photo of Nunemann is below:

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Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden announced that David Salasky pled guilty today to the September 2011 death of New Castle County Police officer Joseph Szczerba.

“This guilty plea in New Castle County Superior Court brings us closer to concluding a tragic and painful chapter for Delaware law enforcement and for our entire community,” Biden said.  “David Salasky’s plea of guilty but mentally ill recognizes that he is criminally responsible for the murder of Lieutenant Joseph Szczerba, and that Salasky is chronically and seriously mentally ill.  This resolution – the finality of a conviction and the certainty of a life sentence – is in the best interest of justice and it allows the Szczerba family, the New Castle County Police, and us all to move forward with healing and continuing to honor the memory of Joseph Szczerba every day.”

On September 16, 2011, after responding to a report of a theft from a motor vehicle and disorderly person in New Castle, Lt. Szczerba observed and approached David Salasky, a subject who matched the suspect description.  A foot pursuit ensued and resulted in a struggle, during which Sgt. Szczerba suffered fatal stab wounds.  Salasky continued to actively resist by fighting other officers, two of whom sustained injuries.

Salasky was indicted by the New Castle County Grand Jury on multiple counts of murder, burglary, weapons, and assault charges in December 2011.  Jury selection for the trial against Salasky had begun today in New Castle County Superior Court before Salasky pled guilty before Superior Court Judge William C. Carpenter, Jr. this afternoon.  Specifically, Salasky pled Guilty but Mentally Ill to 15 felony charges, including 2 counts of Murder 1^st Degree for the death of Sgt. Szczerba, along with 4 counts of Possession of Deadly Weapon During Commission of Felony, 2 counts of Possession of a Deadly Weapon by Person Prohibited, 1 count of Resisting Arrest, 1 count of Attempted Robbery 1^st Degree, 1 count of Assault 2^nd Degree, and 4 counts of Burglary 3^rd Degree.  As a condition of the guilty plea prosecutors agreed to not seek the death penalty at sentencing.  Delaware law requires that the Judge now make an independent determination that Salasky was mentally ill at the time of the crime before he imposes sentence.  A pre-sentence investigation was ordered by the Court and a sentencing date has not been set at this time.  Salasky faces a mandatory sentence of 2 life prison terms without the possibility of parole, plus up to 153 additional years in prison.

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