Man accused of attempted murder is released on bail
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A former death row inmate accused of attempted murder in a 2001 shooting was granted unsecured bail of $20,000 Thursday.
Chauncey Starling, 42, of Wilmington, will have to reside with his former wife in Wilmington and electronic home monitoring will have to be set up prior to release, under bail conditions set by Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Barry Dozor. Starling was also ordered not to have any contact with the victim, Alfred Gaines, and to meet with his Delaware probation officer within 48 hours of release.
Starling is accused of shooting Gaines on April 7, 2001, in the area of 2nd and Flower streets, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Gaines later served as a key witness in convicting Starling for the March 9, 2001, shooting deaths of Damon J. “DJ” Gist Jr., 5, and Darnell Evans, 28, at the Made 4 Men barbershop in Wilmington.
Chester Police Officer William Murphy responded to the area of Second and Flower streets for a report of shots fired at about 11:16 p.m. April 7 and discovered Gaines covered in blood on the ground behind a silver Toyota 4Runner with its lights on and driversside door open, according to the affidavit. He was transported to CrozerChester Medical Center and treated for gunshots to his neck, face and head.
Gaines later told detectives that Starling and two other men, Matthew Minor and Richard Frink, had lured him to Chester that night. He identified Starling as the gunman and also testified against him at trial in the barbershop shooting.
Starling, who has maintained his innocence in that case, was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 2004. He appealed and the death sentence was vacated, but later reinstated by the Delaware Superior Court in 2005.
The Delaware Supreme Court granted Starling a retrial in 2015, which was expected to begin in May of this year. Starling instead entered a “no contest” plea to second-degree murder in February and was resentenced to 18 years in prison in March, served.
Starling was transferred to Delaware County in June for the Gaines shooting under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act, said Assistant District Attorney Matt DeNucci.
The act does not allow the borrowing jurisdiction to provide bail for an inmate. While in custody here, however, Starling’s Delaware sentence was completed and defense attorney Michael Lehr moved to set bail in the Gaines case.
Lehr has also moved to dismiss the Delaware County charges for timeliness issues, which DeNucci has opposed. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for Nov. 6 before Judge Dozor. including time