Drug gang defendant pleads guilty

The second of six defendants in a 2014 Millsboro double homicide case has pleaded guilty to numerous charges and could testify in the trials of his remaining four co-defendants.

Justice officials say Richard Robinson, 22, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder, racketeering, two counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, burglary and conspiracy. Carl Kanefsky, spokesman for the Delaware Department of Justice, said Robinson faces 25 years to life in prison and has agreed to testify at the trials of co-defendants Steven Kellam of Dover, Carlton Gibbs of Millsboro, Rhamir Waples of Philadelphia and Damon Bethea of Pennsauken, N.J. A sentencing date for Robinson has not been set.

Robinson joins codefendant Shamir Stratton in taking a guilty plea for his role in a 35-person crime ring involving drug dealing and home invasions in Kent and Sussex counties. They, along with Kellam, Gibbs, Waples and Bethea, were facing first-degree murder charges in the double murder of Cletis Nelson and William Hopkins at Nelson’s home on Harmons Hill Road. Prosecutors have alleged that Kellam, Robinson, Stratton, Bethea, Waples and Gibbs went to the home to steal drugs and cash they had been told was there. Prosecutors say Kellam was the ringleader of the gang, which would rob drug dealers of narcotics and cash.

The crime ring was busted by Delaware State Police in June 2015 as part of the department’s “Operation In The House.” Police said following the murders of Nelson and Hopkins, Kellam, Robinson and Waples robbed and pistol-whipped two people in separate home invasions and shot and wounded another man at his home on Cordrey Road in Millsboro. Most of the other defendants in the crime ring cases have been charged with narcotics distribution, primarily heroin and cocaine, which was acquired during home invasions.

With Robinson and Stratton pleading guilty - Stratton faces 77 years in prison with a 12-year mandatory sentence on charges of robbery, home invasion, conspiracy and possession of a firearm during a felony - the next of the gang members to face trial is Waples, who is scheduled for trial Monday, Feb. 20.