Derek Keon Brown, a 21-year-old Black / African American male from Wilmington, Delaware, died on February 15, 2022, after a shooting on the city’s East Side. That Tuesday night, Wilmington police were called around 9:27 p.m. to the area of East 10th and North Spruce Streets, where they found Brown suffering from gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a hospital, but he did not survive.
Brown’s death came suddenly, cutting short the life of someone remembered by family as loyal, loving, and
deeply connected to the people closest to him. His obituary said he was born in Wilmington on February 21, 2000, had been educated in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Wilmington public school systems, and worked in construction as a laborer. He was also remembered as a devoted father to his daughter, Nylah, and as someone who loved music, animals, and his family.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, reports said a man was seen running from the area. Members of the Safe Streets Task Force, responding to the shooting, located 25-year-old Shaquan Guilford. Police said Guilford attempted to flee, but officers took him into custody near Taylor and Kirkwood Streets. During that arrest, authorities said they recovered a loaded 9mm handgun that had been reported stolen. At first, Guilford was charged with firearm and related offenses, including possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, carrying a concealed deadly weapon, receiving a stolen firearm, and resisting arrest.
The homicide investigation was assigned to Detective Devon Jones of the Wilmington Police Department Criminal Investigations Division. As the investigation developed, police identified Guilford as a suspect in Brown’s fatal shooting. On February 28, 2022, the case was presented to a New Castle County grand jury, which returned indictments charging Guilford with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. At that time, he remained held at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution.
The case later moved away from the original murder charge through a plea agreement. On December 14, 2022, Guilford pleaded guilty to manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Court records show that the manslaughter plea was accepted as a lesser included offense of first-degree murder, and the remaining charges from the indictment were dismissed as part of the agreement.
On March 3, 2023, Guilford was sentenced after a presentence investigation. For manslaughter, he received 25 years at Level V incarceration, suspended after five years for probation. For possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, he received five years at Level V. For possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, he received 10 years at Level V. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively, resulting in 20 years of Level V prison time followed by probation.
Guilford later challenged his conviction and sentence through postconviction and sentence-modification motions, raising issues including ineffective assistance of counsel, alleged police misconduct, alleged Brady violations, and arguments about whether parts of his sentence should merge or run differently. Delaware Superior Court records show those challenges were denied, with the court finding that the claims were procedurally barred or lacked merit and that the sentence was legal.
