Man is guilty of officer’s murder
Judge rules quickly in Cpl. Heacook’s death
A Sussex County judge has found Randon Wilkerson guilty on 16 counts, including first degree murder, in the April 2021 death of Delmar Cpl. Keith Heacook.
Wilkerson opted out of a jury trial and Superior Court Judge Craig Karsnitz made his decision from a stipulation of facts agreed upon by both the defense and the state, as well as numerous exhibits, including body camera footage shown in court. Wilkerson will be sentenced Dec. 8.
Heacook died a few days after he was brutally beaten while responding to a call April 25, 2021.
Just before dawn, around 5 a.m., a resident of Buckingham Drive in Yorkshire Estates called 911 to report their roommate was “fighting with everyone in the residence and destroying the house,” according to court documents. Another call came in from across the street a few minutes later, where Wilkerson had seriously assaulted an elderly couple, documents say.
Due in part to staffing shortages at the Delmar Police Department at the time, Heacook went to the scene alone. When he stopped responding to dispatchers, the next-arriving officers found the 54-year-old beaten and unconscious. He died in the hospital a few days later.
What the judge said happened that day
The stipulation of facts Karsnitz read in court further detailed the events that day.
Wilkerson had been up all night celebrating his Apr. 25 birthday, consuming drugs and alcohol and terrifying his roommates, according to court documents. Most of his roommates spent a fearful night locked in their rooms as Wilkerson punched holes in the walls and threatened them. He was witnessed smoking or injecting crack, cocaine and meth and drinking vodka, documents say, as well as striking multiple roommates, including his girlfriend.
More context was offered by the
body camera footage of Wicomico County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Houck. Karsnitz said the decision to show the video in court was a difficult one, but said he felt the public had a right to see the evidence, as well as the “commendable” actions of law enforcement. There were audible sobs and many tears in the courtroom as the video was shown.
What the video showed
It was still dark when Houck arrived on Buckingham Drive, along with a Delaware State Police Trooper. The door to the residence was ajar and there was no response when they yelled out to Heacook, but several of the residents upstairs spoke to them through a window. With the residents uncertain what had happened, the officers approached the door with their guns drawn. “Heacook, you OK?” Houck shouted. He and the trooper entered the home cautiously. It was messy. Heacook was lying facedown on the floor in the living room, not far from the door. There was blood on his head and the carpet. He wasn’t responding and Houck said he was dead. They dragged his body outside.
“Come on man!” Houck said as he performed CPR.
A Laurel Police Department officer who had arrived on scene took over and Houck assisted in cuffing the five roommates, who were all outside lying on the ground by then.
Other officers had found Wilkerson behind the house and placed him in a police car. Houck eventually made his way over to him and asked what happened.
“I have no idea,” Wilkerson said. After the video finished, Karsnitz allowed a ten-minute recess for people to collect themselves. Later, he commented on the “heroic” actions of police.
“This may be the most courageous thing I’ve ever seen,” he said. “They went in not knowing what they were facing. They immediately got (Heacook) to a safer spot.”
The verdict
At Troop 5, Wilkerson was placed in an area where he could communicate with his girlfriend, according to court documents. He was recorded saying “I killed him,” among other incriminating things, documents say.
After reading the stipulation of facts and showing the video, barely an hour after entering the courtroom, Karsnitz ruled Wilkerson was guilty on 16 counts, including first-degree murder and murder of a law enforcement officer.
The now-32-year-old Wilkerson showed no trace of emotion, but as he was leaving the courtroom, he said, “Alright, love you” to about six of his family and friends in the courtroom, and one of them responded, “Love you too.”
Heacook’s family quickly left the area after the trial. Wilkerson’s mother declined to comment.
What happens next
Wilkerson’s lawyers have not returned requests for comment, but according to Delaware Attorney General Kathleen Jennings, they will file an appeal.
The trial was delayed numerous times, once because his attorney was considering using an involuntary intoxication defense. According to Jennings, that will likely be the basis of the appeal. Wilkerson claims he believed he was taking bath salts, not meth, Department of Justice Prosecutor Hume said at a news conference, and wanted to claim that caused involuntary intoxication.
“We don’t believe that’s the case and we don’t believe that a defendant can hide from responsibility by taking illegal drugs and then claiming they thought they were getting other illegal drugs,” Hume said. “It would lead to absurd results.”
“He will serve the rest of his natural life in prison,” Jennings said.