The man killed by police following multiple carjackings and several shootouts on Friday had a number of previous run-ins with the law, court records show.
Police identified 39-year-old Jonathan Wiseman on Monday. He was fatally shot by police Friday morning in the area of I-95 and Route 896 near Newark following a 90-minute, multi-city chase that began in Newport.
The incident, which involved nearly a half-dozen police agencies throughout northern Delaware, left drivers stranded on roadways for hours as investigators and medical personnel worked to piece together what happened.
BACKGROUND:Suspect dead after leading Delaware police on lengthy chase across New Castle County, I-95
Police said the incident began in the 100 block of Ayre St. in Newport around 7:30 a.m. when officers were dispatched to a report of a “suspicious person with a gun.” When arriving troopers made contact with Wiseman, he ran.
Police chased Wiseman to an area near Route 141, where a shootout ensued. While no one was hurt, a bus carrying high school students was hit three times. One of the bullets entered the school bus, while another was lodged in the seventh-row window, where a student was sitting.
READ:Video footage, witnesses depict eruption of gunfire in Newport that left school bus hit
Police said Friday they are working to determine whether the bullets that hit the bus came from officers’ weapons or a gun they say Wiseman had.
Following the exchange of gunfire in Newport, police say Wiseman ran onto Route 141 and carjacked one person before fleeing down I-95 toward Newark.
That triggered additional shootouts at several locations, as well as another carjacking, over a period of about an hour. Delaware State Police said they were ultimately able to stop Wiseman’s car near Route 896.
That’s when police “engaged” the 39-year-old in gunfire, killing him. Police said on Friday that troopers tried to give first aid but “it was immediately apparent that the suspect would not survive his injuries.”
Wiseman no stranger to Delaware police
Court records show Wiseman’s run-ins with the law date back nearly two decades, to at least the mid-2000s.
In 2006, he was sentenced to four years in prison, which was to be suspended once he successfully completed a drug program.
That sentence came following a guilty plea to harassment, terroristic threatening, drug charges, burglary, forgery and theft in connection with four separate cases.
Delaware Online/News Journal archives show Wiseman also underwent several drug treatment programs. It’s not immediately known where Wiseman, who graduated from Delcastle Technical High School in 2001, most recently lived prior to Friday’s incident.
This is a developing story. Return to delawareonline.com for updates.
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