Isaias Gonzalez, a 29-year-old Hispanic/Latino man from Wilmington, Delaware, was fatally shot during a violent sequence of events that unfolded late on July 28, 2015, and extended into the overnight hours in New Castle County. At approximately 11:30 p.m., Wilmington police were called to a home invasion in the 900 block of Maryland Avenue. Investigators said several people had forced their way into an apartment and held a victim at gunpoint.
Roughly half an hour later, another burst of violence occurred several miles away in the 300 block of Martin Drive in the Collins Park neighborhood near New Castle.
At the Martin Drive residence, a group broke into a garage where Gonzalez and another victim were shot. Gonzalez suffered fatal gunshot wounds, while the second victim was shot in both legs. Both were transported to Christiana Hospital in Newark, where Gonzalez was pronounced dead. Investigators quickly discovered a connection between the two crime scenes: the victim of the earlier Wilmington home invasion knew Gonzalez. That link brought Wilmington police and New Castle County police together in a joint investigation.
Within approximately a week, detectives had identified and arrested Timane Dollard, Dameir Walker, Miguel Taylor and Marquivus Hardy. Police said the arrests followed an intensive, round-the-clock investigation that relied on cooperation between the two police departments, the Delaware Attorney General's Office and witnesses. The four defendants were initially charged with first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, first-degree robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, two counts of first-degree reckless endangering and second-degree conspiracy. They were held without bail on the murder charges after their arraignments.
As the prosecution developed, authorities ultimately identified five people as responsible for the Collins Park killing, with Zieisha Watters also prosecuted for involvement in the crime. The cases were resolved through guilty pleas rather than trials. Miguel Taylor pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, first-degree conspiracy and second-degree conspiracy. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison followed by two years of probation. His prison term was enhanced in part because previous firearm convictions prohibited him from possessing a gun.
Dameir Walker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, first-degree robbery, home invasion, first-degree conspiracy and second-degree conspiracy. He received 35 years in prison followed by one year of probation. Watters pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree conspiracy. Because of her role in the crime and her cooperation with prosecutors, she was sentenced to five years in prison, followed by six months of either home confinement or work release and then two years of probation.
Timane Dollard also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, two firearm-during-a-felony counts, first-degree robbery, home invasion and first- and second-degree conspiracy. A Superior Court judge sentenced him to 35 years in prison. Marquivus Hardy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, second-degree assault, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, home invasion and both first- and second-degree conspiracy. Hardy received a 27-year prison sentence. By December 2017, all five defendants connected to Gonzalez's killing had received prison sentences, bringing the criminal prosecutions arising from the Collins Park homicide to a conclusion.
