A Wilmington man will spend 21 years in prison for the murder of a 29-year-old father in 2019.
Keith Talley, 29, fatally shot Jaron Smullen during a heated argument in the city, according to court documents.
Shortly after 4 p.m., on Dec. 3, 2019, Wilmington police responded to the 100 block of E. 24th St. for a shooting complaint. There they found Smullen, who had celebrated his youngest daughter’s first birthday days before, bleeding in a doorway, according to a statement released by the police after the incident.
A surveillance video that captured the violence showed the men’s argument escalating to a point where Talley drew a gun and shot Smullen in the stomach area, according to the police affidavit of probable cause – the sworn statement used to arrest someone.
Police said that Smullen died the following morning, more than 11 hours after they found him and transported him to Christiana Hospital.
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A month later, Talley was charged with second-degree murder and other firearms-related charges, according to court documents.
Police also mentioned other witnesses who said Talley had shot Smullen after a heated argument and then ran from the scene with a handgun.
Smullen’s mother, Jena Carter, said after the arrest that it brought her some comfort and that she prayed “justice is served.”
“I don’t want to see anybody else get hurt,” she said at the time. “If you don’t value human life, you won’t value the next person’s life either. I’m just praying that justice is served, that’s all, that he gets justice in court.”
Contact the reporter Yusra Asif @ yqureshi@delawareonline.com
