Shiheem Durham, an 18-year-old African American male from Dover, Delaware, was killed on February 25, 2020, after a planned meeting turned into a fatal shooting near the Premier Village Apartments in Dover. Around 2:00 p.m., Delaware State Police were called to the parking lot between the McDonald’s and the Best Western off Pine Cabin Road and East Lebanon Road after reports of shots fired.
When troopers arrived, they found Durham dead from an apparent gunshot wound in the area of the apartment complex.
The investigation later revealed that Durham had been caught in a murder-for-hire plot. In January 2020, Khalil Dixon allegedly placed a bounty on three people, including Durham, in retaliation for the killing of one of Dixon’s friends. Prosecutors said Jason Calhum and other members or affiliates of the M-Block Grimy Savages gang, also known as MGS, agreed to carry out the plot. On the day of the shooting, the group traveled from Wilmington to Dover. Calhum allegedly lured one of the intended targets to a meeting by making it appear to be a drug deal. When the vehicle arrived, Calhum fired a single shot into it. The shot missed the driver but struck Durham, who was seated in the front passenger seat.
Police publicly identified Jason D. Calhum and Darielle Oliver as suspects in May 2020. Calhum, then described by police as 18 and from Philadelphia, was taken into custody at his home in Philadelphia on April 23, 2020, and held pending extradition to Delaware. Authorities said he was expected to face charges of first-degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, and first-degree conspiracy. Oliver, then 18 and from Wilmington, turned herself in at Delaware State Police Troop 2 on May 4, 2020, was charged with felony first-degree conspiracy, arraigned, and released on her own recognizance.
As the case developed, prosecutors focused on Dixon as the person accused of initiating the contract killing. Dixon was indicted in September 2021 on charges including first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy, first-degree criminal solicitation, money laundering, and second-degree conspiracy. Court records described evidence that included phone calls, text messages, social media messages, and cell tower records. Tyrie Burton, an MGS gang member, testified for the State under a cooperation agreement and described communications tied to the bounty and the murder-for-hire plan, including testimony that Dixon had offered money for the killings.
Dixon and Calhum were tried together in 2022. On June 8, 2022, a jury found both men guilty of all charges. However, the case did not end there. Calhum later moved for a new trial, Dixon joined the motion, and in February 2025 the court granted a new trial because of a juror issue. Prosecutors retried the case, and on December 12, 2025, both men were again convicted in New Castle County Superior Court in connection with Durham’s killing.
On March 18, 2026, Jason Calhum and Khalil Dixon were sentenced for their roles in the murder. Calhum was sentenced to life in prison plus an additional 14 years after convictions for first-degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, first-degree conspiracy, money laundering, gang participation, and three counts of second-degree conspiracy. Dixon was sentenced to life in prison plus an additional eight years after convictions for first-degree murder, first-degree conspiracy, money laundering, second-degree conspiracy, and first-degree criminal solicitation. Darielle Oliver later entered a no-contest plea to hindering prosecution.
