State v. Ashton-Martin

── State v. Ashton-Martin ── Court: Superior Court of Delaware Date: April 28, 2026 Category: General IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE STATE OF DELAWARE, ) ) ) ID No. 2510005962 v. ) ) KAYVON ASHTON-MORGAN, ) ) Defendant. ) Submitted: April 23, 2026 Decided: April 28, 2026 Upon Defendant Kayvon Ashton-Morgan’s Motion for Reverse Amenability Hearing DENIED. ORDER Erika Flaschner, Esquire, William H. Leonard, Jr., Esquire, Deputy Attorneys General DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, 820 North French Street, Wilmington, DE 19801, Attorneys for the State of Delaware. Peter W. Veith, Esquire, 1523 Delaware Avenue, First Floor, Wilmington, DE 19806, Attorney for Defendant Kayvon Ashton-Morgan. WHARTON, J.  This 28th day of April 2026, upon consideration of Defendant Kayvon Ashton- Morgan’s Motion for Reverse Amenability Hearing, it appears to the Court that: 1. Defendant Kayvon Ashton-Morgan (“Ashton-Morgan”) has been charged by indictment with two counts of Murder First Degree, two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony (“PFDCF”), two counts of Wearing a Disguise During the Commission of a Felony, and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited (“PFBPP”).1 He seeks to transfer these charges to Family Court under 10 Del. C. §1011. A reverse amenability hearing was held on April 23, 2026. Testifying at the hearing for the State were Det. Justin Wilkers (“Det. Wilkers”) of the Wilmington Police Department and Juvenile Probation and Aftercare Specialist III at the New Castle County Detention Center Jennifer Wilson. (“Spc. Wilson”) of the Department of Services for Children, Youth, & Their Families (“DSCYF”), Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services (“DYRS”). Ashton-Morgan presented the testimony of Robin Belcher-Timme, Psy.D., ABPP (“Dr. Timme”). The Court received reports authored by Spc. Wilson and Dr. Timme into evidence. Also received into evidence were a compilation video of surveillance camera footage from before, during and after the homicides, and various photographs. 1 Indictment, D.I. 3. 2  2. The homicide victims, Nathan Lopez and Kaleb Blumberg, both 17, were killed as they sat in a car stopped at the intersection of 6th and Pine Streets in Wilmington on October 8, 2025. Both victims died of gunshot wounds to the head. The events giving rise to the charges against Ashton-Morgan were captured on a number of surveillance cameras in the area of the incident and presented as a time- sequenced video compilation encompassing a period several minutes before the murders and ending shortly after them. The murders occurred in broad daylight. The compilation video depicts four individuals, including Ashton-Morgan walking in the area prior to the victims stopping at the intersection. Three of the four appear to engage the victims in conversation while Ashton-Morgan separates from the three and goes around the block. During that time several of the remaining three disengage and re-engage with the victims. Finally, Ashton-Morgan comes back and approaches the passenger side of the vehicle. He appears to shoot into the vehicle which then lurches forward, strikes something and reverses. All of the four individuals originally seen walking in the area flee. 3. The next day, Ashton-Morgan’s mother brought him to the House Sergeant’s Office at the Wilmington Police station at attempted to surrender him the incident that happened the previous day. However, the House Sergeant’s unfamiliarity with the incident thwarted that effort. After Ashton-Morgan was identified from