DELAWARE STATE POLICE BEAT / Can Bear Bank Robbers Bear up to Fifty Years in Slammer?
Others face prison time for weapons, robbery, and child pornography charges
DOVER, DEL. — A 46-year-old man from Bear was sentenced to 50 years in prison for a 2011 bank robbery in Kent County which resulted in a police pursuit and gunfire.
Deputy Attorneys General Susan Schmidhauser and Ben Snyder secured the sentence for Russell Grimes, who was convicted at trial in the November 2016 of Robbery First Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited and 5 counts of Reckless Endangering 2nd. In August 2011, Grimes, and his co-defendant William S. Sells III conspired together to commit a bank robbery at the First National Bank of Wyoming in the 100 block of Irish Hill Road in Felton.
Sells went into the bank, displayed a gun, and threatened to shoot the employees if he didn’t get money
Prosecutors report that the co-defendant, Sells, went into the bank, displayed a gun and threatened to shoot the employees if he didn’t get money. Grimes drove the get-away vehicle and led the police on a 16-mile-high speed chase through western Kent County. While Delaware State Police chased the SUV, Sells fired several shots, striking multiple police cruisers.
Trooper only winged him!
The SUV eventually crashed and the two suspects ran, with Grimes being shot in the ankle by a Trooper.
The SUV eventually crashed and the two suspects ran, with Grimes being shot in the ankle by a Trooper.
Superior Court Judge Robert Young sentenced Grimes to the minimum mandatory sentence of 50 years. Sells pled guilty and was sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison, followed by 2 years of probation for his role in the robbery.
The SUV eventually crashed and the two suspects ran, with Grimes being shot in the ankle by a Trooper. Superior Court Judge Robert Young sentenced Grimes to the minimum mandatory sentence of 50 years. Sells pled guilty and was sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison, followed by 2 years of probation for his role in the robbery.
Driving without a seatbelt was the least of ex-con Karl Manuel’s charges
WILMINGTON, DEL. — Going to prison for life is a possibility for an ex-con who, from his own free will, or at the direction of the Devil, decided to pack heat while carrying crack – not to mention failing to buckle up his seatbelt.
Deputy Attorney General Zachary Rosen secured a guilty verdict for Karl Manuel, 54, of Wilmington in a bench trial before Superior Court Judge Ferris Wharton. In May 2016, officers found Manuel with a loaded .380 caliber handgun and a plastic bag holding crack cocaine after a traffic stop on North Monroe Street that led to a search. Manuel, previously deemed a habitual offender as a result of his criminal convictions, was convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, Possession of Ammunition by a Person Prohibited, carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon, and Driving Without a Seatbelt. Manuel faces 23 years to life in prison when sentenced in March.
Third time was the charm for lousy marksmanship by thug
WILMINGTON, DEL. — Delaware Deputy Attorney General Periann Doko obtained a guilty plea from Michael Newton, 36, of Newark for Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, Reckless Endangering First Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Assault First Degree, and Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon.
Newton was arrested in December 2015 for three separate shootings. In September 2015, Newton shot a man in the face in the 500 block of East Ninth Street in Wilmington. On December 3, 2015, he shot a man in the hand at the Motel 6 on Route 273 in Newark, and on December 20th, shot a man in the arm in the 1000 block of West Fourth Street in Wilmington. The State will file a petition to declare Newton a habitual offender. He faces a minimum mandatory 22 years in prison when sentenced by Judge Richard Cooch in March.
Manlove will have 15 years in prison for armed robbery/murder during drug deal and a chance to live up to his name
DOVER, DEL. Delaware Deputy Attorneys General Steve Welch and Ben Snyder secured a prison sentence for a 21-year-old Dover man for his part in a robbery that turned fatal. Bruce Manlove Jr. pled guilty last November to charges of Robbery First Degree and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony.
In May 2015, Manlove, along with 20-year-old Damier Harmon, attempted to rob 19-year-old Gary Adams in the Walker Woods neighborhood in Dover during a marijuana transaction. The three began to fight, and Adams was shot. Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clark sentenced Manlove to 15 years in prison. Harmon, who pled guilty to Murder Second Degree and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, faces 18 years to life in prison when he is sentenced.
New Castle Police Officer Robert Vasecka Entered Guilty Plea on Child Porn
DOVER, DEL. — Delaware Deputy Attorney General Periann Doko secured a guilty plea from Robert Vasecka, 46, of Newark, to two counts of Dealing in Child Pornography and one count of Possession of Child Pornography. In September 2016, a public internet chat room reported that one of its users uploaded suspected images of child pornography.
The Department of Justice reports that on September 2016, a public internet chat room reported that one of its users uploaded suspected images of child pornography. The Child Predator Task Force sought subscriber information for the account, which came back to Robert Vasecka. At the time of his arrest, Vasecka was employed as an officer with the New Castle County Division of Police. Vasecka faces 4 to 53 years in prison when sentenced by Judge William Carpenter in March.