Inmate Charged In 2019 Murder Case

Wilmington Police Cold Case Unit investigators have made an arrest in connection with a 2019 fatal shooting.

On September 27, 2019, 29-year-old Hakeem Smalls was gunned down in the 2500 block of North Monroe Street.

At 11:39 p.m., officers from the Uniformed Services Division swiftly responded to the scene following reports of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered Smalls, who had sustained a gunshot wound. He was transported to the hospital, however, he succumbed to his injuries.

The case was originally assigned to Detective Matthew Reiss of the Criminal Investigations Division.

The investigation continued, and the efforts of Detective Matthew Reiss and the Cold Case Unit – including Cold Case Investigator Steven Rizzo and Detective Devon Jones – led to the identification of 28-year-old Dashawn Daley as a suspect police said Wednesday.

On August 14, the case was presented to the New Castle County Grand Jury, which returned an indictment against Daley. Daley was already in custody at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution due to an unrelated matter police said.

Dashawn Daley now faces a series of serious charges, including Murder (First Degree), Murder During the Commission of a Felony (First Degree), Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony (Four Counts), Robbery (First Degree), and Reckless Endangering (First Degree). Following his arraignment in New Castle County Superior Court, he was held at Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on the new charges, where he will remain held on a substantial cash-only bail of $1,275,000.