James Harland, a 35-year-old Black / African American male from Newark, Delaware, was killed in the early morning hours of June 8, 2021, after a confrontation inside a residence on Ethan Allen Court turned into a deadly shooting. Newark police were first called to the home just before 1:00 a.m. for a reported disturbance, but while officers were still on the way, a second call came in reporting that someone had been shot at the same address.
When officers arrived, they found Harland
inside the residence suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Another man at the home, identified as 26-year-old Desmond Elliott, was also injured with a gunshot wound to the wrist. Officers provided medical aid to Elliott before he was taken to a hospital, where police said he was in stable condition.
Investigators later said the shooting came out of an altercation between Harland and Elliott, who were roommates. According to Newark police, Elliott introduced a handgun during the fight and shot Harland multiple times. A later Delaware Superior Court order stated that Elliott told police, after being advised of his Miranda rights, that he possessed the weapon used in the shooting as well as another firearm found at the residence. Elliott also allegedly told officers that Harland had made threats before coming to the residence, that the two men fought near the top of the stairs, and that Elliott retrieved a firearm from a bathroom after believing he was losing the fight. The court order said Elliott told police he had placed the firearm in the bathroom in anticipation of Harland coming to the home. An autopsy later determined Harland had been shot seven times.
Elliott was arrested on June 9, 2021, while hospitalized. At first, Newark police charged him with two counts of possession of a firearm by a person prohibited and receiving a stolen firearm. He appeared before Justice of the Peace Court by video from his hospital bed and was released on $43,000 unsecured bail. The next day, the Delaware Attorney General's Office sought a bail increase, and Elliott's bail was raised to $300,000 cash. He was then turned over to the custody of the Department of Corrections.
The case continued under investigation for months. On March 28, 2022, after Newark detectives completed their investigation and consulted with the Delaware Department of Justice, the case was presented to a New Castle County grand jury. The grand jury indicted Elliott on murder first degree, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, two counts of possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, and receiving a stolen firearm. Newark police said Elliott had remained incarcerated in Delaware since his initial arrest in June 2021.
