Dequan T. “Day Day” Dukes was a 21-year-old Black/African American man from Dover, Delaware, whose life ended in a planned robbery that erupted into gunfire on the evening of June 27, 2017. At approximately 8:48 p.m., Dover police officers responded to reports of shots fired at the Pine Grove Apartments on Webbs Lane. They found Dukes inside a vehicle parked between two apartment buildings, suffering from at least one gunshot wound to his upper body.
Emergency personnel transported him to Bayhealth Kent General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
The investigation revealed that Dukes had not arrived at the apartment complex by chance. According to authorities and later court proceedings, Lisa Wagaman asked Dukes to give her a ride to Pine Grove Apartments, drawing him to the location as part of a plan to rob him. Police determined that Wagaman, Brett A. Scott, Gregory Sellers and Raymond Ward had participated in the robbery conspiracy. The alleged targets of the plan were money and illegal drugs believed to be in Dukes's possession.
Once Dukes was seated in the parking lot, Scott approached his vehicle. The encounter quickly turned violent, and Dukes and Scott exchanged gunfire. Dukes was fatally wounded in the chest or upper body, while Scott was struck multiple times, reportedly in the chest, hand and foot. Gregory Sellers then transported the wounded Scott to Bayhealth Kent General Hospital. Scott's arrival there with gunshot injuries initially made him appear to be the second victim of the Pine Grove shooting, but the developing investigation identified him as the person who had approached Dukes during the attempted robbery.
Police arrested Scott on June 29, two days after the killing. Authorities also arrested Wagaman and Sellers during the early stages of the investigation, while Ward remained wanted. On July 10, members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, assisted by Dover police and Delaware State Police, located Ward at a residence on Terry Drive in Magnolia. He was arrested without incident and was reportedly carrying a loaded. 38-caliber handgun. Police also filed additional firearm-related charges because Ward was allegedly prohibited from possessing a gun and was a fugitive wanted on felony charges.
A Delaware grand jury later indicted Scott, Wagaman and Ward in connection with the case. The original charges included first-degree felony murder, attempted first-degree robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and second-degree conspiracy. The prosecution's theory was that Dukes was killed during the attempted robbery, making the participants legally responsible for the death even though the shooting developed from an exchange of gunfire. Sellers entered a plea and signed a cooperation agreement with the state, becoming a cooperating defendant in the prosecution of the others.
Scott went to trial separately. In July 2018, a Superior Court jury convicted him of second-degree murder, attempted first-degree robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and conspiracy. Evidence presented at trial showed that Scott had planned to rob Dukes, approached his vehicle and exchanged shots with him. Scott challenged the convictions on appeal, arguing that the evidence did not sufficiently prove his intention to commit a robbery. In April 2019, the Delaware Supreme Court rejected that argument, finding that the jury had been given sufficient evidence to conclude that Scott intended to participate in the robbery, and affirmed his convictions.
Wagaman admitted that she had helped lure Dukes to the apartment complex. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree conspiracy. A Superior Court judge sentenced her to 15 years in prison, followed by six months of home confinement or work release and one year of probation. Her conviction reflected the principle that she could be held responsible for the killing because she intentionally helped arrange the encounter that led to the attempted robbery and fatal shooting, even though she was not accused of firing the bullet that killed Dukes.
The available online records clearly identify Scott, Wagaman, Sellers and Ward as the four people arrested or prosecuted in connection with the robbery plan. They establish Scott's jury convictions and unsuccessful appeal, Wagaman's guilty plea and prison sentence, and Sellers's plea and cooperation agreement. The publicly accessible sources reviewed do not provide equally clear, complete information about the final sentence imposed on Scott or the ultimate resolution of every charge against Sellers and Ward.
