White/Caucasian Chad Ernest Spicer, 29, a Georgetown, Delaware patrolman, was killed in the line of duty on September 1, 2009. Late that afternoon, after reports of gunfire during a dispute outside a McDonald's on U.S. 113, officers were told to look for a silver sedan linked to the shooting. Riding “two up” with Corporal Shawn Brittingham as they moved to intercept, Spicer helped spot a Chrysler Sebring matching the broadcast description and the pair pursued it into Georgetown's
Kimmeytown neighborhood, where the suspect vehicle suddenly braked to a stop. As Brittingham's cruiser pulled alongside, a single shot was fired from the rear seat of the Sebring, striking Spicer in the face and fatally wounding him; a ricochet grazed Brittingham's neck. The driver bolted on foot, another passenger stayed behind and tried to render aid, and the gunman fled into the neighborhood.
Within hours, investigators focused on a 22-year-old named Derrick J. Powell as the suspected triggerman. He was tracked to a nearby house and arrested that night, then charged with first-degree murder and related offenses. Authorities also identified the driver, 20-year-old Christopher L. Reeves of Lincoln, Delaware, who initially eluded capture; several days later he surrendered to police. The unfolding manhunt and arrests gripped the small town, which held an immediate prayer service as residents reeled from the loss of a young officer killed during a routine pursuit that began with a botched street-level drug deal.
Prosecutors later described how the chase from the McDonald's shooting ended on North King and Rosa Streets, where the cruiser drew even with the Sebring and a single round fired from within the car ended Spicer's life. Forensic testimony at trial centered on DNA and ballistics, while witnesses from the McDonald's scene recounted the scramble from an argument that escalated into gunfire and flight. The narrative established at trial—pursuit, abrupt stop, door flung open by the driver, and a rear-seat shot that tore through the patrol car's passenger window—matched early investigative summaries preserved in court records and contemporaneous reporting.
In February 2011, a Sussex County jury found Derrick Powell guilty of murdering the 29-year-old officer, and the trial moved to a penalty phase. A Superior Court judge sentenced Powell to death that spring, calling him a dangerous career criminal; the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence in 2012. Subsequent appeals challenged aspects of the investigation, counsel performance, and sentencing framework, but courts repeatedly upheld his conviction; years later, the Superior Court again rejected Powell's bid for a new trial.
As for other suspects, Christopher L. Reeves—the driver—faced charges and cooperated with authorities after surrendering, while the third passenger who remained at the scene was not accused of firing the fatal shot and was noted in records for attempting to aid the wounded officers. The arrests closed the immediate manhunt, but the story that began with a brief encounter outside a fast-food restaurant left an enduring scar on Georgetown, where the death of the 29-year-old patrolman marked a wrenching first in the town's history.
