Allen Melton, a 28-year-old Black man from Wilmington, Delaware, was fatally shot on the afternoon of September 7, 2017, after stepping into a confrontation involving his girlfriend. At approximately 4:29 p.m., Wilmington police officers were dispatched to the intersection of Cedar and Anchorage Streets after the city's ShotSpotter system detected gunfire.
When officers arrived, they found Melton collapsed near the corner with multiple gunshot wounds, including wounds to his torso and legs.
The violence reportedly began with an ordinary request that quickly escalated. Melton's girlfriend, Danielle Curl, said she had approached a stranger and asked whether she could buy a cigarette. The encounter led to a physical fight between Curl and a woman who was accompanying the man. Authorities later identified that woman as Latesha Favors of Wilmington and the man with her as Sandy Lashley of Queens, New York. Witnesses reported that Melton attempted to intervene and separate the women, but Lashley drew a firearm and shot him multiple times. Curl said Melton was struck three times.
New Castle County paramedics treated Melton at the scene before rushing him to Christiana Hospital in critical condition. Despite efforts to save him, he died from his injuries later that day. Police initially believed the suspected gunman might have fled into a residence in the 100 block of Cedar Street. Officers secured the house, and members of Wilmington's Crisis Management Tactical Team and Hostage Negotiation Team attempted to contact anyone who might have been inside. When negotiations produced no response, tactical officers entered the building.
No suspect was found in the residence. During the search, however, an aggressive dog attacked a tactical officer, injuring both of the officer's hands. The officer was taken to Christiana Hospital in stable condition. With the suspected shooter gone, investigators began gathering witness accounts and reconstructing what had happened before Melton was struck by the gunfire.
The investigation eventually focused on Lashley, who had fled Delaware after the killing and returned to New York. He remained at large for several months before authorities arrested him in Brooklyn on February 14, 2018. A New Castle County grand jury subsequently indicted him on charges of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was returned to Delaware to face prosecution.
The case did not ultimately proceed to a first-degree murder trial. In May 2019, Lashley pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of second-degree murder and to possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. By accepting the plea, he admitted criminal responsibility for shooting Melton during the Cedar Street confrontation. In August 2019, a Delaware Superior Court judge sentenced Lashley to 23 years in prison, followed by two years of probation.
Favors was described by prosecutors as Lashley's female accomplice because of her involvement in the initial altercation and because she reportedly fled with him after the shooting. When Delaware officials announced Lashley's guilty plea in May 2019, they stated that Favors was still wanted by police for her role in the fight with Melton's girlfriend. Publicly available reports do not indicate that she was accused of firing the fatal shots, and they do not provide a confirmed later arrest, prosecution, or conviction for her in connection with the case.
Melton's death grew from a brief street confrontation into a homicide that separated his family and loved ones from him permanently. Witness testimony helped investigators identify the gunman, and the search eventually crossed state lines before Lashley was captured. Nearly two years after the shooting, the criminal proceedings ended with Lashley's guilty plea and lengthy prison sentence, establishing that Melton was killed while attempting to stop an altercation rather than intensify it.
