A Wilmington man has been convicted in a nearly four-year-long cold-case murder.
In August 2023, authorities announced that Wilmington Police Cold Case Unit investigators had made an arrest in connection with a 2019 fatal shooting. On Wednesday, officials stated that Dashawn Daley, 29, pleaded guilty to Murder 2nd Degree for the September 27, 2019, killing of Hakeem Smalls.
Authorities reported that at 11:39 on that September 2019 evening, Daley robbed Smalls at gunpoint in the area of 25th and Monroe Streets in Wilmington. Daley stole a .380 pistol that Smalls had legally purchased a few weeks prior, then shot him twice before fleeing the scene. Smalls was taken to Christiana Hospital, where he died of his wounds.
The case was initially assigned to Detective Matthew Reiss of the Criminal Investigations Division and eventually went cold. However, the investigation continued, and the efforts of Detective Matthew Reiss, Cold Case Investigator Steven Rizzo, and Detective Devon Jones led to the identification of Daley as a suspect, as announced by police in August of last year.
On August 14, 2023, 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 a Violation of Probation charge.
Dashawn Daley originally faced 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 remained.
On May 15, 2024, Daley pleaded guilty to Murder 2nd Degree and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. Daley’s plea also resolves the Violation of Probation that was pending at the time of his arrest for this crime in August 2023. He is currently projected to face sentencing in June 2024, where he will face a minimum of 18 years in prison, up to life plus 25 years.