A 22-year-old Dover man has been convicted for a series of shootings in December 2023 that left one man dead and three others injured.
On May 13, 2025, a Superior Court jury in Kent County found Jaquan Fletcher guilty of one count of Murder in the First Degree, three counts of Attempted Murder in the First Degree, and four counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony. In a simultaneous bench trial, the presiding judge also found Fletcher guilty of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition due to a prior conviction prohibiting him from owning either.
The conviction stems from an investigation led by the Dover Police Department with assistance from the Delaware State Police High Tech Crimes Unit. Fletcher’s crimes began on December 2, 2023, when he shot a 45-year-old male in the parking lot of the Wawa located at 1450 Forrest Avenue, wounding the victim in the upper body. Six days later, on December 8, he shot a 25-year-old male near Village Drive and Quail Hollow Drive, again striking the victim in the upper body. The most severe incident occurred on December 14 on Ann Avenue, where Fletcher shot and killed 42-year-old Frederick Tolson, a local barber, and wounded a 59-year-old family member who was present at the residence.
Officials said the victims were shot from concealed positions and from significant distances, and there was no known connection between Fletcher and any of the victims. Fletcher was apprehended on December 15, 2023, after being identified through an extensive investigation that involved video surveillance, vehicle identification technology, witness interviews, and crime scene examinations. Fletcher was already wanted on unrelated charges by the Delaware State Police at the time of his arrest.
Fletcher is scheduled to be sentenced on August 12, 2025. He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of life plus 52 years and a maximum potential sentence of up to four life terms plus 116 years in prison.