Taquan Davis, a 19-year-old Black / African American male from Wilmington, Delaware, was killed on the evening of September 12, 2020, after a violent stretch of gang-related shootings in the city had already placed him in danger. Just four days earlier, Davis had been walking home from a memorial service along North Pine Street with 17-year-old Ol-lier Henry, Antionajsa Williams, and another woman when a car with tinted windows pulled up beside them. Two masked men opened fire.
Henry was struck and later died, Williams was grazed, and Davis escaped unharmed. Investigators later believed Davis had been the primary target of that first attack.
In the days after Henry's death, Davis appeared to grieve and respond publicly online, posting about Henry and taunting NorthPak, a Wilmington gang that investigators said was locked in a violent feud with a rival group known as M-Block Grimy Savages. Authorities described the violence as being driven by retaliation, reputation, and social media disputes, where perceived insults could turn people into targets. By September 12, Davis had survived one attack, but investigators said the conflict had not moved on from him.
Around 7:00 p.m. that evening, Davis was at a store near the corner of Elm and Harrison Streets in Wilmington. As he was leaving, someone called out his name. Davis stepped out of his car to look, and gunfire followed. He was struck in the mouth, chest, and left arm, and he died from his injuries. No ballistics evidence was recovered at the shooting scene at that time, but months later investigators recovered three 9mm shell casings from a stolen Hyundai Santa Fe that they connected to Davis's killing. That vehicle had been stolen earlier on September 12 and later found abandoned near a residence connected to co-defendant Elijah Coffield.
Gregory Wing, also known by aliases including Swerve, John Wick, and G Herb, became the central suspect in Davis's murder. Prosecutors and investigators identified Wing as a leader and shooter for NorthPak. On September 16, 2020, four days after Davis was killed, Delaware State Police spotted a dark-colored Nissan Altima pull into a Wawa on Philadelphia Pike in Wilmington at a high rate of speed and in an erratic manner. A registration check showed the car had been reported stolen. When officers moved in after Wing returned from inside the Wawa, Wing fled but was caught nearby with a black 9mm Beretta and eleven rounds of ammunition. Officers also found spent 9mm shell casings inside the Altima. Wing later pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed deadly weapon and receiving stolen property in connection with that arrest.
Investigators tied Wing to the September 8 and September 12 shootings through a combination of ballistics evidence, cell tower data, social media messages and posts, and witness testimony. The 9mm Beretta seized from Wing after the Wawa arrest was linked to shell casings recovered from the stolen Nissan Altima, from the earlier Lecompte and Green shooting, and from the stolen Hyundai Santa Fe tied to Davis's killing. Prosecutors also presented evidence that Wing viewed Davis's social media posts after Henry's death and sent messages that appeared to threaten Davis. They also said Wing tried to create possible alibis after both the September 8 shootings and Davis's September 12 murder.
A key witness was former NorthPak member Stanley Jones. Jones testified that he had stolen the Hyundai Santa Fe connected to Davis's murder and that he was with Wing when they saw Davis on September 12. According to Jones, Wing was driving the stolen Hyundai, circled the block after spotting Davis, and ultimately reached over Jones to shoot Davis with the 9mm Beretta. Jones said he had asked if he could shoot Davis because he was trying to build his reputation, but because the Beretta belonged to Wing, Wing made the decision and fired. Jones also testified that after the shooting, Wing drove to a Wawa, where the two broadcast themselves on Instagram Live and laughed, then abandoned the Hyundai near Coffield's house.
In May 2021, Wing and numerous co-defendants were indicted as part of a sweeping NorthPak gang case. Wing was later reindicted in November 2021 on charges that included two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, multiple firearm offenses, conspiracy, illegal gang participation, and other charges. Coffield was tried with Wing and was described by prosecutors as another NorthPak leader and shooter, but court records specify that Wing, not Coffield, was charged with Davis's murder. Coffield faced and was convicted on charges tied to other shootings, including the murders of Ol-lier Henry and Shareef Hamilton, as well as the attempted murder of Davis from the September 8 attack.
After a 14-day trial involving more than 50 witnesses and more than 600 exhibits, a New Castle County jury convicted Wing of gang participation and multiple violent crimes, including first-degree murder in the deaths of Ol-lier Henry and Taquan Davis. Wing was sentenced on August 11, 2023, to two life sentences for the murder convictions, plus an additional decades-long prison term. The Delaware Supreme Court later affirmed Wing's convictions and sentence, leaving in place the jury's finding that the violence that followed Davis from the September 8 attack ended with Wing murdering him outside the Elm and Harrison store four days later.
