David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Dion Oliver, age 43, was sentenced today to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole after he was convicted of Stalking, Kidnapping Resulting in Death, and Conspiracy following a 7-day federal trial that concluded on November 16, 2022. U.S. District Judge Joshua D. Wolson pronounced the sentence.
According to evidence and witness testimony, the Defendant worked with at least five coconspirators to search for a man, listed in the Indictment as M.S., in an attempt to kill him. On June 6, 2017, in furtherance of their continuing pursuit of M.S., Oliver and his confederates kidnapped M.S.’s girlfriend, Keyonna Perkins, and used her to find M.S. Ms. Perkins was held at gunpoint by Oliver. She was then forced into the trunk of a car. After locating M.S., Oliver and his coconspirators fired multiple shots at M.S., but failed to hit him. Following that shooting, Ms. Perkins was forced into the trunk of a second car and driven by co-conspirators to Elkton, Maryland where she was murdered.
Oliver continued his pursuit of M.S. after the first failed shooting. He located M.S. at Probation & Parole Offices in New Castle. Oliver, working with Pritchett, waited for M.S. to leave Probation & Parole. They followed M.S. into Wilmington until M.S. got out of his car. Pritchett then drove alongside M.S., while Oliver reached out the front passenger window of Pritchett’s truck and fired multiple shots at M.S. The gunfire missed M.S., but one of the bullets ripped through a passing SUV and struck a six-year-old boy in the head, causing the child severe and permanent injuries.
“I don’t think I can overstate how horrific this offense is” Judge Wolson commented as he handed down Oliver’s sentence. Oliver’s crime was “selfish, ignorant, and the consequences were devastating,” he continued. “There is no mercy for this type of conduct.”
In discussing Oliver’s mandatory life sentence, U.S. Attorney Weiss stated, “Oliver and his co-defendants’ heinous conduct caused the death of Keyonna Perkins, and severely and permanently injured an innocent then-six-year-old boy. The lives of the victims’ families and their respective communities have been forever changed, and as a result, the Defendant will be spending the rest of his life in federal prison. My office will continue its work with federal, state, and local law enforcement to aggressively investigate and prosecute the violent crime that plagues our communities.”
“The FBI is committed to removing dangerous criminals like Dion Oliver from our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI’s Baltimore field office. “Because of Oliver’s callous and despicable actions, an innocent woman was murdered, and a child’s life will never be the same. The FBI, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue working every day to make our neighborhoods safer from those seeking to commit violence and bring harm to our citizens.”
After his initial arrest, Oliver was mistakenly released from custody by the Department of Correction. He ended up turning himself in after an off-duty police officer urged him to do so. You can read about that here https://firststateupdate.com/2018/10/police-off-duty-cop-talked-suspect-released-by-mistake-into-turning-himself-in/
This case was investigated by FBI’s Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Taskforce, with assistance from the Wilmington Police Department, New Castle County Police Department, Delaware State Police, and the Elkton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jesse S. Wenger and Eli H. Klein prosecuted the case along with former Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe.
Source: USDOJ