Witness describes 2014 double murder

A state's witness told a jury April 10 how he and two others opened fire on two Millsboro men, killing them during a 2014 robbery.

Richard Robinson, 22, of Philadelphia testified in the trial of Damon Bethea, one of six men charged with first-degree murder in the Harmons Hill Road murders of William Hopkins and Clete Nelson.

Robinson, dressed in prison orange, described the night of Jan. 14, 2014, when he, his brother, Rhamir Waples, 20, of Philadelphia, and Bethea, 32, of Pennsauken, N.J., went to rob Hopkins and Nelson of about $4,000 in drug money.

Robinson answered questions but was told a few times by Superior Court Judge M. Jane Brady to speak up. His tone was sharp when prosecutor Martin Cosgrove asked whether he knew Bethea, who sat in the courtroom dressed in a pressed blue oxford and wearing glasses. Robinson assaulted Bethea in a prison fight, according to Department of Correction documents referenced during the trial. Guards stated that Robinson punched Bethea, who did not fight back, and several guards had to pull Robinson off.

The two are linked by their participation in a planned robbery that turned deadly.

In January, Robinson said Millsboro resident Steve Kellam told the three men to kill Hopkins and Nelson following a fight between Hopkins and Kellam's housemate, John Snead.

“I just knew they had money, and there was dope there,” Robinson said about a Harmons Hill Road home that several men and two women conspired to rob. He said he asked Kellam what to do with residents Hopkins and Nelson after the robbery, and Kellam said, “Kill them.”

Arriving at the Harmons Hill Road home, Robinson said, he gave Bethea a boost into a bathroom window. Bethea then opened the rear door while holding Hopkins by his dreadlocks with a gun pointed to his head, he said.

Robinson said he took cash out of Hopkins' jacket while Bethea went to a bedroom where he woke Nelson by pistol whipping him.

Nelson joined Hopkins in a living room before, Robinson said, he and Waples roughed up Hopkins for more money. The shooting began after Nelson spoke up, he said.

The courtroom was still as Robinson matter-of-factly described the scene.

Waples took the first shot, shooting Nelson in the head before the three men emptied their revolvers, Robinson said.

“All turned to William and opened fire,” he said calmly. “There were no more bullets in my gun. We all shot.”

During Waples' trial in March, prosecutors said, Hopkins and Nelson were shot 12 times, causing 20 gunshot wounds to the body and head. Waples was found guilty of murder, robbery and home invasion,

Robinson, who has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and agreed to testify, said he and Waples fled the scene, leaving Bethea behind. Robinson said he heard two more shots from inside the home while he was outside.

Shamir Stratton, 26, of Pennsauken, drove Robinson and Waples to Snead and Kellam's Pine Ridge home where Kellam split the stolen money among participants, Robinson said.

Throughout testimony over two trials, Kellam has been described as a cousin of several of the men and a drug kingpin in Sussex County who orchestrated robberies of homes known to have drugs and large amounts of cash.

Stratton has pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, home invasion, conspiracy and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony.

Kites from prison

A clandestine inmate delivery system in which letters, known as kites, are passed by inmates was explained by Robinson and inmate Larry Stephens, Bethea's cell mate at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna. Stephens said kites are usually small pieces of paper that can be thrown over a fence or into a cell by a passerby, while inmates who have maintenance or other prison jobs often deliver larger bundles between inmates.

Prosecutors submitted several letters written by Bethea to Robinson as evidence, which both Robinson and Stephens identified as Bethea's handwriting. Bethea's letters urged Robinson to keep quiet because there is no DNA evidence that links the men to the shootings.

“If nobody talks, they have no case,” he said. “You gave up more info … you should be laying low.”

A journal, written by Bethea while in prison, gave a different account of what happened on the night of the shootings. Bethea wrote that he never went inside the Harmons Hill Road home, but hid outside in the bushes. He said he is legally blind and he never took a weapon or money in connection with the shootings.

Superior Court Judge M. Jane Brady told Bethea that he must decide soon whether he will testify on his own behalf. Bethea nodded in agreement, but no decision was made whether he will testify. His trial is expected to finish by the end of the week.