Kevin M. King II was a 36-year-old Black man from Ellendale, Delaware, whose life ended during a violent confrontation in Milford on July 1, 2017. Early that morning, King was with his friend Don R. Martinez in the parking lot of the Silver Lake Estates apartment complex off Linstone Lane. The two men became involved in an argument that escalated into a physical confrontation.
During the dispute, Martinez drew a handgun and fired repeatedly, striking King multiple times and fatally wounding him. A third person, identified only as a 31-year-old man, was also struck by gunfire. He was taken to Bayhealth Milford Memorial Hospital, treated and released.
After the shooting, investigators said Martinez placed King's body inside a vehicle and drove away from the apartment complex. Police agencies began searching for the vehicle, which was later discovered abandoned near Route 10 by Dover police and Delaware State Police. King was found dead inside. State troopers located Martinez near the abandoned vehicle and took him into custody, bringing the search to an end shortly after the killing.
Milford police initially charged Martinez with first-degree murder, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited. He was committed to Sussex Correctional Institution in lieu of $1 million cash bail. The firearm-possession restriction resulted from his previous felony convictions, which included burglary, aggravated menacing and conspiracy. Detectives Timothy Maloney and John Horsman of the Milford Police Department investigated the case, and Delaware Department of Justice personnel later assisted with the prosecution.
The prosecution was eventually resolved through a guilty plea rather than a jury trial. In December 2018, Martinez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited. The plea formally established his responsibility for shooting King during the argument and exposed him to a potential sentence ranging from 26 years to life in prison.
In February 2019, a Delaware Superior Court judge sentenced Martinez to 35 years in prison. The sentence also required six months of either home confinement or work release after his incarceration, followed by two years of probation. The conviction and sentence concluded the criminal case against the only publicly identified suspect in King's killing; available reports do not indicate that any additional person was arrested or charged in connection with the homicide.
