Waples guilty of murder, home invasion

A Delaware Superior Court jury has found a Philadelphia man guilty on 21 charges that include murder, robbery and home invasion in the January 2014 deaths of Cletis Nelson and William Hopkins.

The 12-person jury of 4 men and 8 women found Rhamir Waples, 20, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, home invasion, conspiracy and 15 counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a felony. Judge T. Henley Graves has not set a sentencing date but said Waples would likely be sentenced in three months.  

Waples had no visible reaction to the verdict, looking at the clerk as she read the charges to the jury foreman. Waples’ attorney, Thomas Pedersen, said while he disagrees with the verdict, he respects the jury’s decision. He said there is an automatic appeal of the verdict but that barring a pardon or clemency, Waples will likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

Prosecutor Chris Hutchison said he was satisfied with the verdict, but he is looking ahead to three other cases related to the murders involving codefendants Steven Kellam, Carlton Gibbs and Damon Bethea. Bethea, another of the alleged triggermen in the killings, is scheduled for trial in early April.

Waples’ sentencing is complicated by the fact that he was a minor when the crime took place; Graves said he is eligible to receive up to life in prison instead of the consecutive life sentences that an adult could receive. However, Pedersen said he would be facing mandatory minimum sentences of 45 years for the 15 firearms charges and a mandatory six years for the home invasions, adding up to 51 years for those crimes, before sentencing for the robbery and murder charges. Because three guns were used in the crime and it was not definitively determined which one Waples used, he was charged with three firearms charges for each count of murder and robbery, plus the home invasion.

State prosecutors said money and retaliation were the motives behind the murders of Nelson and Hopkins in a Millsboro trailer home in January 2014.

In closing arguments, prosecutor Martin Cosgrove said robbing Nelson and Hopkins of cash and drugs was the basis for a home invasion and robbery, while avenging a fight earlier in the weekend of Jan. 13 was the retaliation. Cosgrove said Kellam ordered his cousins, Waples, Bethea and Richard Robinson, to kill Nelson and Hopkins in revenge for a fight in which Hopkins beat up Kellam’s brother, John Snead.

Cosgrove described the events as a ball slowly unravelling, citing the testimony of Shamir Stratton, 26, the man appointed the getaway driver for the robbery and also a cousin of Kellam, Waples, Bethea and Robinson. He said Kellam had called his cousins up to party and commit a robbery; Cosgrove said Kellam used his cousins because they were from out of state and could be counted on not to talk since they were all family.

Citing the testimony of Stratton and Rachel Rentoul and a police interview with Robinson, Cosgrove said the idea for the robbery was planted by Rentoul and her friend, Jackie Heverin, who told the group Hopkins and Nelson had a large stash of cash at the home. Seeking the chance to get revenge on Hopkins while also getting money for themselves, the group hatched a plan to commit the robbery. Kellam and another accomplice, Carlton Gibbs, retrieved three guns from Kellam’s house - .32-caliber and .40-caliber semi-automatic pistols and a .22-caliber revolver - and passed them to Stratton, Cosgrove said. Stratton distributed the guns to Waples, Bethea and Robinson, Cosgrove said. Based on Robinson’s interview, Bethea entered the home of Nelson and Hopkins on Harmons Hill Road through the bathroom window and let Waples and Robinson in a back door. The three then robbed Nelson and Hopkins of their cash, with Bethea pistol-whipping Hopkins in the process.

Stratton and Robinson disagreed on exactly when the trio got the order to kill Nelson and Hopkins, but both agreed Kellam gave the order. Robinson said Kellam told them while they were in the house to kill Hopkins and Nelson, while Stratton said the order was given before they drove to Harmons Hill Road. Stratton said he heard three different gunshots, and shell casings from the semi-automatics were found around the bodies. Cosgrove said the revolver, which Waples used, did not eject shell casings but that smaller bullet wounds were found in Hopkins. He said Waples and Robinson killed Hopkins, while Bethea killed Nelson. The two men were shot 12 times, causing 20 gunshot wounds to the body and head, Cosgrove said.

While Cosgrove acknowledged Stratton’s willingness to talk was an act of self-preservation, his story was corroborated by Robinson’s police interview; Robinson took the stand in the trial but refused to provide details against his brother.  His account was also corroborated by wiretapped phone calls between Snead and Kellam and Waples and Snead, in which the parties involved admit police were closing in and that they were pretty sure Stratton was the one who talked.

In his final summation, Pedersen attacked what he said were the two lynchpins of the prosecution’s case: Stratton and Robinson.

“One, or both, is lying,” Pedersen said. “They both can’t be right.”

Pedersen pointed out differences in their stories, particularly in how the kill order from Kellam was received. He said both claimed to have received the message over the phone, but there are no phone records corroborating that they spoke with Kellam the night of the killings. Pedersen said their stories also differed on where they divided the money: Stratton said they did it on the back of Kellam’s car, while Robinson said they counted the money at Snead’s house. Pedersen said the accounts differed on where they went after the killings.

Of Stratton, Pedersen said, “He lied his behind off over and over and over again. Can you put any faith in anything Shamir Stratton said to you?” He said Stratton minimized his role in the crime and intentionally left some people out of his story and inserted others in.

Regarding Robinson, Pedersen said he was selfish and ruthless and was only willing to provide any details when confronted with going to jail, in an attempt to save his own skin.

In discussing fellow witness Rentoul, who admitted to helping set up the robbery, Pedersen said these people inhabited a world where the normal rules did not apply, where everyone is single-minded, ruthless and in the sole pursuit of what they need. He said the prosecution presented no physical evidence tying Waples to the crime, and there was no proof Bethea, Waples and Robinson were actively doing the bidding of Kellam or that they had any particular allegiance to one another. Pedersen said the prosecution’s case was built on faulty blocks and asked for a not guilty verdict.

Most of the trial was spent on the state’s case, which took nearly two-and-a-half weeks. Pedersen did not present any evidence or witnesses, although it should be noted the defense is not obligated to do so. The baby-faced Waples, typically clad in a plaid shirt and khakis, was attentive and curious throughout the trial, but declined to testify in his defense.