State v. Walker ( 2023 )

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
STATE OF DELAWARE )
)
)
) I.D. Nos. 2103000123
v. ) 2010012972
) 2109006816
) 2111011522
DAVON WALKER, )
)
Defendant. )
ORDER
Submitted: November 9, 2022
Decided: February 27, 2023
AND NOW TO WIT, this 27th day of February, 2023, upon consideration
of Davon Walker (“Defendant”)’s Motion for Modification/Reduction of Sentence
under Superior Court Criminal Rule 35, the sentence imposed upon the
Defendant, and the record in this case, it appears to the Court that:
1. Defendant actively participated in criminal street gang activity with
the knowledge that its members engaged in or had engaged in a pattern of criminal
activity which included various acts of murder, firearm offenses, assault, first degree
and robberies.1
1
See Crim Id. N210300123, D.I. 37.
2. For his participation in the gang activity, Defendant was indicted on
three counts of Murder First Degree with respect to his role in the killing of three
men: nineteen-year-old Naithan Gryzbowski, shot in September of 2020, thirty-year
old Tommier Dendy, shot one month later in October of 2020, and twenty-nine-year-
old, Eddie Green, also shot five days later.2
3. Through heavily negotiated plea discussions, Defendant accepted and
pled guilty to three counts of Murder Second Degree, one count of Conspiracy First
Degree, and one count of Gang Participation. 3 The State and Defendant, through
counsel, agreed to a recommended unsuspended sentence of fifty-three years.
Accordingly, on August 26, 2022, this Court imposed the recommended sentences.4
4. On November 9, 2022, Defendant filed this pending Motion for
Sentence Modification/Reduction, asking the Court to “suspend non-minimum
mandatory Level V sentence for completion of educational and rehabilitative
programs.”5 In support, he asserts that he is remorseful; he has put efforts into
education; his former employer before incarceration wants him to return; and he was
2
Id.
3
Crim Id. N210300123, D.I. 1.
4
Defendant was sentenced as follows: (1) for each count of Murder Second Degree—to forty
years at Level V, suspended after fifteen years (minimum mandatory), (2) for Conspiracy First
Degree—to five years at Level V, and (3) Gang Participation—to three years at Level V. Crim
Id. N210300123, D.I. 40.
5
Id.
2
sentenced to Level V without any conditions—such as enrollment in certain
rehabilitative programs—that could help him to become a better person.6
5. Defendant’s pending Motion is his first Motion for Sentence
Modification and was filed within 90 days of sentencing. Therefore, Defendant is
not time-barred. Under Superior Court Criminal Rule 35(b), the Court may reduce
a sentence of imprisonment on a motion made within 90 days after the sentence is
imposed. 7 The rule “allows for a reduction of sentence without regard to the
existence of a legal defect.”8 Thus, relief under Rule 35(b) is within the sound
discretion of the Sentencing Court.9 Accordingly, a timely and non-repetitive Rule
35(b) motion is “essentially a ‘plea for leniency.’”10
6. Defendant was facing life in prison on three charges of Murder First
Degree. He was extended a plea offer and accepted the same with an agreed upon
recommendation of fifty-three years of incarceration, with the understanding that
each count of Murder Second Degree carried a minimum mandatory sentence of
fifteen years each. After an appropriate colloquy with Defendant in open court, the
Court determined that he understood the nature of the charges to which he was
6
Id.
7
Del. Super. Ct. Crim. R. 35(b).
8
State v. Lewis, 797 A.2d 1198, 1201 (Del. 2002).
9
Id.10
Id. at 1202 (quoting United States v. Maynard, 485 F.2d 247, 248 (9th Cir. 1973)).
3
pleading guilty, and the consequences of his plea.11 Remorse, educational or
employment opportunities, etc., do not persuade the Court to reduce the Level V
sentences. The sentence remains appropriate for all the reasons previously stated on
the record at the time of sentencing.
IT IS SO ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion for Sentence
Modification/Reduction is DENIED.
/s/ Vivian L. Medinilla
Judge Vivian L. Medinilla
oc: Prothonotary
cc: Defendant
Investigative Services
11
See Del. Super. Ct. Crim. R.11(c)(1).
4