Kaden E. “Deen” Young was a 21-year-old Black man whose life ended in gunfire on January 20, 2017, in Wilmington, Delaware. Born and raised in Wilmington, Young was remembered by relatives and friends as a beloved son, brother and friend. His death left his family planning a funeral and celebration of life only days after what had begun as an ordinary Friday afternoon.
At approximately 3:21 p.m., Wilmington police received several reports of shots being fired in the 1200 block of Elm Street, near North Harrison Street. Officers arriving at the scene found Young unresponsive after he had been struck by gunfire. A second victim, Shyjuan Dickerson, was also wounded during the shooting but survived. Police attempted to assist Young, but his injuries proved fatal.
Investigators determined that the violence followed a brief argument in the area. Authorities eventually identified Isaiah Baird and Therion Reese as the men responsible. Court and prosecution records described Baird as the person who shot Young and wounded Dickerson, while Reese was prosecuted as a co-defendant who participated in the deadly confrontation. The investigation was led by Wilmington Police detectives Robert Fox and Devon Jones.
Reese was arrested on February 6, 2017. A cellular telephone found in his possession became an important part of the investigation. Detectives obtained a warrant to search the device after gathering information that Reese had discussed the homicide and made incriminating statements. Reese later challenged the legality of the telephone search, but the court rejected his effort to suppress the evidence.
Baird pleaded guilty in 2018 to second-degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and first-degree conspiracy. At the time of his plea, prosecutors said he faced a potential sentence ranging from 18 years to life in prison. His guilty plea removed the need for a trial and formally established his criminal responsibility for Young’s killing and the wounding of Dickerson.
Reese continued facing prosecution for Young’s death as well as two other shootings. One involved shots fired at a teenager and the teenager’s mother on South Jackson Street in December 2016. The other occurred in February 2017, when Reese fired into a vehicle near Beech and Van Buren streets and wounded a teenage driver in the leg.
On June 27, 2019, Reese pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, second-degree assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a person prohibited. He was prohibited from possessing a gun because of earlier felony-level juvenile adjudications. On October 11, 2019, a Superior Court judge sentenced him to 28 years of unsuspended imprisonment, followed by additional years of probation.
The guilty pleas by Baird and Reese brought the prosecution to a close after more than two years of investigation and court proceedings. Although the convictions could not restore Young to his family, they ensured that both men identified in the fatal shooting were held legally accountable. Young was laid to rest after a celebration of life at Ezion Fair Baptist Church, leaving behind his parents, siblings, extended family and a community that continued to mourn the sudden loss of a young Wilmington resident.
