Two teenagers were sentenced to decades in prison for murder last week, the latest young men to receive long prison sentences in the state’s cases against the NorthPak gang.
Jacari Robinson, 19, and Julius Smith Jr., 18 both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the killing of Dakevis Reed, a 29-year-old who was fatally shot in December 2020 near New Castle. A teen who Reed was walking with was also hit by the gunfire but survived.
Robinson was 17 years old at the time of the shooting and last week was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Smith was 15 years old at the time of the shooting and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The two also pleaded guilty to gang participation and other charges.
They had initially been charged with first-degree murder as part of a sprawling indictment of Wilmington-area youths that prosecutors accused of several murders and illegal participation in the NorthPak gang.
So far, the cases against NorthPak have brought murder convictions in the deaths of five mostly young men and other cases remain pending.
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Where do the rest of the cases stand?
Robinson and Smith pleaded guilty days after a judge put life sentences on two other accused NorthPak members convicted by a jury of first-degree murder for fatally shooting 17-year-old Ollier “Slim” Henry, 19-year-old Taquan “Tink” Davis and 21-year-old Shareef Hamilton in 2020.
At trial earlier this year, a jury convicted 20-year-old Elijah Coffield of killing Henry and Hamilton, and 21-year-old Gregory Wing for killing Henry and Davis along with multiple nonfatal shootings. Markel Richards, 21, had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter for Hamilton’s killing and was sentenced to 21 years for that and other charges.
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Murder charges remain pending against J’Shawn Edwards for Hamilton’s death.
Markevis Clark, 21, and Zymir Hynson, 20, both pleaded guilty in February to second-degree murder for the 2020 shooting death of 17-year-old Taron Whaley. Clark was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Hynson was sentenced to 18 years.
Israel Lecompte, 20, awaits trial on murder charges for the deaths of Quinton Dorsey and Matima Miller in 2021. Trial is scheduled for March.
First-degree murder charges also remain pending for Davine Boyce, 24, for the 2019 death of 19-year-old Stephan Price in Wilmington’s Eastlake neighborhood.
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com.
