Getaway driver in 2014 double murder case released

A New Jersey man who admitted to being the getaway driver for a January 2014 double murder in Millsboro was sentenced to time served and will be released from prison.

Shamir Stratton, 27, had previously pleaded guilty to robbery, home invasion, conspiracy and firearms charges in connection with the robbery and murders of Cletis Nelson and William Hopkins at a trailer home off Harmons Hill Road.

Speaking to Delaware Superior Court Judge T. Henley Graves at his sentencing Oct. 26, Stratton asked for leniency and the opportunity for another chance.

“Words can’t change anything. Saying I’m sorry is not enough,” he said. “I ruined my life, and I learned my lesson. I’m ready to correct my mistakes.”

Stratton had taken a guilty plea in exchange for testimony against co-defendants Rhamir Waples, Damon Bethea and Steven Kellam. During those trials, Stratton testified that Kellam had arranged for him to come down from New Jersey for a party and to “do licks,” or commit a robbery. Stratton brought his cousins Bethea, Waples and Richard Robinson.

Over the weekend of Jan. 10, 2014, Stratton was hit over the head with a bottle during a fight at the Millsboro VFW. The next day, he testified, Kellam’s cousin, John Snead, pointed out Hopkins as the man who hit him. Later that day, Snead and Hopkins got into a fight that Hopkins won.

That night, Stratton, Kellam, Waples, Bethea and Robinson met at a Long Neck hotel with Rachel Rentoul, Carlton Gibbs and Jacqueline Heverin. When the subject of Hopkins came up, Rentoul mentioned that Hopkins was a partner with her boyfriend, Nelson, and that there were drugs and cash at the house where Nelson lived.

Stratton testified that the group decided to commit the robbery, with Robinson, Waples and Bethea going into the house. When they asked Kellam what to do with Hopkins and Nelson, Stratton said Kellam gave the order to kill them.

Stratton’s testimony led to the convictions of Kellam and Waples on double murder charges, although Bethea was found not guilty. Robinson had taken a plea to a lesser charge of second-degree murder, along with robbery and home invasion charges, prior to trial in exchange for his testimony.

Stratton was given credit for 841 days already served in jail - a little less than three years - plus two years of probation. He was scheduled to be released from jail during the afternoon of Oct. 26.