Convicted murderer seeks dismissal of charges

A Philadelphia man convicted of first-degree murder a year ago wants charges dismissed or a new trial in the violent deaths of two men in their home on Harmons Hill Road.

The motion, filed by attorney Thomas Pedersen on behalf of Rhamir Waples, is pending before Delaware Superior Court Judge T. Henley Graves. Waples has yet to be sentenced on 21 felony convictions, including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, home invasion, conspiracy and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Graves will make a decision on whether to grant Waples a new trial Thursday, Feb. 8.

Pedersen says the charges against Waples should be dismissed because prosecutors failed to disclose that their key witness, Shamir Stratton, had been promised time served in exchange for taking a guilty plea and testifying against Waples and two other defendants, Steven Kellam and Damon Bethea.

Nicole Magnusson, spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Justice, said the department has no comment on the motion at this time.

Waples was convicted of being a triggerman in the January 2014 double murder of Cletis Nelson and William Hopkins in a home on Harmons Hill Road in Millsboro. Prosecutors argued that on orders from Kellam, Waples, his brother Richard Robinson, and Bethea entered the trailer home, shot and killed Nelson and Hopkins and then robbed them.

At trial, prosecutors said that Kellam called his cousin, Stratton, to come down to Delaware for a party. Stratton, a native of Pennsauken, N.J., brought his cousins, Bethea, Robinson and Waples. The night of the murders, Kellam had been fed information by Rachel Rentoul that Nelson, her boyfriend, had a large amount of heroin and cash at his house and that Hopkins was his partner in drug dealing. Kellam, Waples, Robinson, Stratton, Bethea and Carlton Gibbs, a friend of Kellam’s, decided to rob Nelson’s house, and Rentoul showed them where the house was. Stratton testified that before the robbery, Kellam handed Bethea, Robinson and Waples guns. Stratton, the getaway driver in the scheme, testified that Kellam gave the order to kill the men in the house.

Stratton pleaded guilty to charges of home invasion, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, first-degree robbery and second-degree conspiracy. His testimony helped secure a guilty verdict in Waples’ trial, but Bethea was found not guilty. Robinson and Gibbs took plea deals, and Robinson also testified at the trials of Kellam and Bethea. Robinson took the stand for Waples’ trial, but he refused to testify against his brother, so prosecutors were forced to rely on earlier statements to police in lieu of testimony.

During Waples’ trial, it was understood that Stratton was facing a minimum of 12 years in jail, with a maximum of 77 as a result of his plea. However, in Delaware, the judge has the power to ignore minimum mandatory sentences.

It was during Kellam’s trial in September that Stratton stated on the witness stand that he had an agreement with the state that if he continued to cooperate, prosecutors would recommend he be sentenced to time served, meaning he would do no further jail time once the trials were over. In October, he was sentenced to time served.

According to Pedersen’s motion, when prosecutors realized they had not provided information on the plea deal during Waples’ trial, they sent a letter and made a phone call explaining why they did not disclose. In his motion, Pedersen said this is a violation of the state’s duty to turn over information affecting the credibility of a key witness. He said withholding any promises made to Stratton is suppression of evidence, which is illegal, and was harmful to Waples’ defense.