Getaway driver details night of 2014 double murder

As the trial of the man accused as the triggerman in a Jan 2014 double homicide continued this week in Sussex County Superior Court, the confessed driver of the getaway car gave detailed testimony of the events leading up to the murders.

Rhamir Waples, 20, is accused of first-degree murder in the January 2014 deaths of Cletis Nelson and William Hopkins at a home Nelson lived in with Edward Cannon on Harmons Hill Road near Millsboro.

Prosecutors allege Steven Kellam of Dover, known to various state witnesses as Silk, was the ringleader of a crime ring that robbed drug houses in Kent and Sussex counties. According to testimony, Kellam called in people from out of state to take part in his operation, which in this case, prosecutors say, was a home invasion ending in murder.

Shamir Stratton, 26, of Pennsauken, N.J., testified he was the getaway driver who handed out weapons to three accomplices and waited outside when they entered Nelson's house. Stratton has accepted a plea agreement that requires him to testify in the case, but he has not been sentenced.

Stratton said he and several cousins – Damon Bethea, who lived in Camden, N.J., and Richard Robinson and Waples of Philadelphia – all came to Sussex County to party with Kellam, also Stratton's cousin. Kellam told Stratton they could “do licks,” meaning commit robberies.

The cousins met Kellam and his brother, John Snead, at a home they rented in Pine Ridge, near Georgetown, where, Stratton testified, Kellam showed off guns including a .38-caliber revolver, a .40- or .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a .22-caliber semi-automatic.  

On the second night of their visit, Stratton said, he, Snead, Kellam, Waples, Bethea and Robinson went out to a local VFW where a fight broke out.  Stratton was struck in the head with a bottle; he later was treated at Beebe Healthcare where staples closed his wound.

Later that night, Stratton testified, he and Snead saw Hopkins and another man in a car. Stratton said Snead had been drinking and was itching for a fight with Hopkins. Stratton said Snead and Hopkins had a confrontation, where Waples and Kellam were armed with guns.

Stratton said Snead had Hopkins barricaded in a house, but when friends of Hopkins arrived, it was decided Hopkins and Snead would fight it out, one on one. According to Stratton, Hopkins beat Snead badly before Hopkins' friends broke up the fight.

Stratton said the group went to a liquor store, where he ran into Rachel Rentoul in the parking lot and the two exchanged numbers. Stratton and Rentoul have both testified they exchanged texts all night, although Rentoul testified earlier in the trial that she did not know Stratton.

Stratton, Kellam, Robinson, Waples and Bethea drove to several locations, ending at a hotel in Long Neck, where, Stratton testified, he was surprised to find Rentoul with Carlton Gibbs and Jackie Heverin.

Heverin had testified she and Rentoul were prostituting themselves for drugs and money, and that Rentoul had set her up with Gibbs in exchange for heroin.

Stratton testified, Rentoul, who had been dating and buying drugs from Nelson, said she knew Hopkins and that Hopkins had drugs and cash at Nelson's house.

Stratton said at this point, “light bulbs went off in everybody’s head.” It was quickly decided, with little planning, that they would rob Hopkins.

Rentoul, serving 15 years for her role in leading the gang to Nelson and Hopkins’ house, admitted during her testimony to setting up the robbery and showing the others the home.

Stratton testified, he, Gibbs, Kellam, Bethea, Robinson and Waples met up with Kellam, who arrived in another car with the three pistols he had shown the group earlier. Stratton said he gave guns to Waples, Robinson and Bethea, and then he got into Gibbs’ truck with Gibbs and Kellam. The three canvassed the house to figure out the best way to leave quickly.

Stratton said they then met the others. He testified when Waples asked what should be done with the boys in the house, Kellam said to kill them. Stratton said he and Bethea protested, but Robinson was ready to go with it. Eventually the group agreed to commit to the robbery, he said.

Stratton said when they got to Hopkins and Nelson’s home, Waples, Bethea and Robinson got out and headed inside. He testified he heard about 20 gunshots from three guns. Stratton said he panicked and pulled the car out into the middle of the road when Robinson and Waples ran out of the trailer and hopped in. The group left Bethea, while Kellam and Gibbs fled in Gibbs’ truck. They met back at a house where they had gathered earlier, and Robinson told Stratton that Nelson and Hopkins were dead.

Stratton said he took the guns and threw them into the woods and again drove to several locations; at one stop, he said, Waples and Robinson pulled out the loot from the robbery, and said “They got him.” After waiting for Kellam, Gibbs and Bethea, the group came together and disposed of their cell phones, Stratton said.

On cross-examination, defense attorney Thomas Pedersen said Stratton came to Sussex County to do more than just be a driver and party with his cousins.

“You came here to do a robbery, right?” Pedersen asked.

He pointed to earlier testimony when Stratton said he ran out of money early in his trip to Delaware, and that one of the ways Stratton planned to get money was by taking part in a robbery.

Pedersen also cast doubts on Stratton’s testimony about the number of shots he heard, implying Stratton only knew there were 20 shots because he was privy to discovery documents after his guilty plea on charges of robbery, home invasion and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, a plea agreement that required him to testify against his codefendants.

Pedersen said in his initial statements, Stratton told police detectives he heard fewer than 20 shots. Stratton awaits sentencing of up to 77 years in prison with a minimum of 12 for his role in the crime.

Further robbery planning details emerge

Heverin served as the prosecution’s first witness Feb. 28, and she shed some additional light on the events that led to the murders.

Heverin admitted to being an opioid addict who alternated between taking painkillers and shooting heroin. She said she had been kicked out of a halfway house in Georgetown for using. A native of Newark, Heverin testified she did not feel she could go home after messing up again and soon became friends with Rentoul.

She said Rentoul got her into prostitution, paying her in drugs Rentoul got from Nelson. Heverin said Rentoul set up the meeting with Gibbs at a Long Neck hotel.

After Heverin had sex with Gibbs, Heverin testified, Gibbs and Rentoul started using heroin and crack. During the night, Heverin said four men arrived and started talking with Gibbs about a fight and problems with Hopkins and Nelson.

Heverin testified Rentoul told them Nelson had drugs and cash at the house; she said the men planned to enter the house and “bum rush” Nelson’s house. Heverin said she knew the group would rob Nelson and Hopkins but did not recall any talk that the girls would get a cut of the money.

Rentoul had earlier testified that she received heroin and $500 for her part in the robbery.

Pedersen used his cross-examination of Heverin to discredit the earlier testimony of Rentoul. Pedersen pointed out that Heverin had trouble remembering the events, which would make sense given Heverin’s drug habit and the three years since the murders. Pedersen sought to contrast that with Rentoul, who came off as having a clear memory of events despite her admission of using a prodigious amount drugs and alcohol the night of the murders. Pedersen said Rentoul was motivated to get even with Nelson because the two had a fight earlier that day.

Heverin, who pleaded guilty to taking part in a conspiracy to commit robbery and is awaiting sentencing, could not recall whether the gang at the hotel had followed her and Rentoul to Nelson’s house before robbing it.