Delaware – A 67-year-old Clayton man will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to Murder First Degree. Deputy Attorneys General Greg Babowal and Nicole Hartman secured the plea from Gilbert Rochester, who in December 2015, went to his in-laws’ home in Smyrna and killed his estranged wife Cathy Lane, 56, and his mother-in-law Louise Cavuto-Carrow, 80. Lane was stabbed to death, and Cavuto-Carrow was bludgeoned. Rochester was immediately sentenced to a mandatory life term without the possibility of parole, probation or other reduction.
Deputy Attorneys General Marie Graham and Ben Snyder secured a plea from Fchante Robertson, 28, of Dover to Manslaughter and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. In April 2015, Robertson shot and killed 19-year-old Dashawn Friend in the parking lot of the Pine Grove Apartments on Webbs Lane in Dover during a marijuana deal that turned into a robbery. Robertson is scheduled for sentencing in November.
A 35-year-old Wilmington man will spend at least 10 years in prison on a gun charge after his guilty plea in New Castle County Superior Court. Brian Pressey pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited. In February 2016, officers from Operation Safe Streets stopped Pressey’s car after noticing it make several turns without signaling. After getting permission to search the car, officers found a loaded .380 caliber handgun. Pressey is prohibited from having a gun due to previous violent felony convictions. Deputy Attorney General John S. Taylor prosecuted the case.
Deputy Attorney General Phillip Casale secured a prison sentence for John Landoll Jr., 36, of Newark for Escape After Conviction and Violation of Probation..In October 2014, Landoll was a sentenced Work Release inmate at the Plummer Center where he was assigned to the Shop Rite Grocery Store in the Governor’s Square Shopping Center on Route 40 in Bear. Landoll failed to return to the Plummer Center after New Castle County Police issued an arrest warrant based on Landoll allegedly threatening and harassing a female co-worker’s husband. Delaware Probation and Parole and the United State Marshal’s Service tracked Landoll across country before he was taken into custody during a high speed pursuit in South Dakota. After serving a brief prison sentence in South Dakota, Landoll was extradited to Delaware sentenced to five years in prison, suspended after four years for six months Level IV Work Release, followed by one year of Level III probation.
Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Song obtained a prison sentence for James Oneal, 43, of Wilmington. In December 2015, police observed Oneal in a drug transaction in the 300 block of North Franklin Street in Wilmington. In June 2016, Oneal pled guilty to Drug Dealing heroin and to a Violation of Probation a 2011 conviction for Possession with the Intent to Deliver Heroin. Oneal was sentenced as a habitual offender for the Drug Dealing to 18 months in prison and the successful completion of the Key Program. For the Violation of probation, Oneal received one year in prison, suspended for one year at Level IV CREST Program. If Oneal completes CREST in under a year, the balance of the time is suspended for Level III CREST aftercare.
Deputy Attorney General Barzilai Axelrod secured a prison sentence for Daniel Kalinowski, 21, of Newark. Over the course of two days in October 2015 and while on drugs, Kalinowski robbed a Taco Bell restaurant and then an Artisans Bank in Newark. Kalinowski implied he had a gun, got cash from the employees, and then left. Kalinowski pled guilty in May 2016 to Robbery First Degree. Kalinowski was sentenced to 5 years in prison, suspended after 3 years and completion of the Key Treatment Program, for 6 months Level IV, followed by 18 Months of Level III probation. Kalinowski also pled guilty to Offensive Touching with Saliva for an incident where he spit on a first responder assisting him after a drug overdose, and was sentenced to one year at Level V, suspended for one year of Level II probation.
Deputy Attorney General Julie Finocchiaro obtained a plea for 19-year-old Dayquan Hargroves of Wilmington, to Robbery First Degree, Reckless Endangering First Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Conspiracy Second Degree. In December 2015,
Hargroves arranged to meet another man in the 2200 block of North Pine Street in Wilmington, in order to buy two hover boards. When they met, Hargroves came with an unknown co-conspirator. The co-conspirator pulled a gun and the two stole the boards, with the co-conspirator firing shots which struck two cars as they ran away. Hargroves faces a minimum sentence of six years in prison when sentenced by the court.
Deputy Attorney General Michael DegliObizzi obtained a plea from Tymere Brown, 32, of Wilmington to Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon and Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited. In February 2016, a Wilmington Police Officer responded to a call of a man with a gun in the 200 block of West 29th Street. When he arrived, he observed Brown ducked behind a building holding a gun. When the officer identified himself, Brown took off running. During the foot chase, Brown discarded his gun into a construction dumpster, where it was later recovered. Police took Brown into custody after he fled into an apartment building in an attempt to hide. Wilmington Police Officer Robert DiRocco took the lead role in apprehending Brown, who will be sentenced by the court in November.
Image Credits: Dover Police, Delaware Dept Of Corrections, Delaware State Police, Wilmington Police