IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
ISRAEL LECOMPTE, § § No. 454, 2024 Defendant Below, § Appellant, § Court Below–Superior Court § of the State of Delaware v. § § Cr. ID Nos. 2107004126A&B (N) STATE OF DELAWARE, § 2109003432A&B (N) § Appellee. §
Submitted: July 3, 2025 Decided: September 15, 2025
Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; VALIHURA and GRIFFITHS, Justices.
ORDER
After consideration of the brief and motion to withdraw filed by the
appellant’s counsel under Supreme Court Rule 26(c), the appellee’s response, and
the Superior Court record, it appears to the Court that:
(1) In July 2021, a Superior Court grand jury indicted the appellant, Israel
Lecompte, an alleged member of a street gang known as “NorthPak,” for gang
participation and numerous violent crimes. The charges against Lecompte in the
operative reindictment included gang participation, two counts of first-degree
murder, ten counts of attempted first-degree murder, four counts of first-degree
robbery, eleven counts of first-degree reckless endangering, four counts of receiving stolen property, theft of a motor vehicle, and multiple conspiracy and firearm-related
offenses.
(2) Lecompte’s charges arose from an ongoing investigation into NorthPak
and its suspected involvement in a series of violent crimes in the City of Wilmington.
Investigators determined that NorthPak was a “hybrid criminal street gang” with “no
clear code of conduct or rank structure” typically confined to a specific geographical
location.1 NorthPak used social media platforms like Instagram to “establish
territory,” “disrespect opposing gang members,” “pay homage to fellow deceased
gang members or associates,” “post guns,” and promote “the gang itself.”2
Investigators believed the gang formed in 2018, when they first observed social
media posts tagged with the monicker “NorthPak.” NorthPak’s territory was “on
the north side of the city[,] from 24th to 30th Streets, from Market all the way up to
about Washington.”3
(3) In the summer of 2021, NorthPak was feuding with rival Wilmington
gangs, including the M-Block Grimy Savages (“MGS”) and Chase the Bag
(“CTB”).4 NorthPak also considered the Riverside and Southbridge areas of
Wilmington to be “opposing” territories.5 Gang members followed opposing gang
1 App. to Opening Br. at A182. 2 Id. at A178. 3 Id. at A137-38, A1636. 4 Id. at A1639-1640. 5 Id. at A1640, A1682-83, A2238, A2241, A2353. 2 members on Instagram, and would often taunt or “troll” each other by, among other
things, posting from within an opposing gang’s territory and showing disrespect to
an opposing gang’s murdered members.6 A person who taunted opposing gang
members or showed allegiance to a particular gang member could become a target
for an opposing gang.7 NorthPak gang members would frequently steal cars to “spin
the block,” a slang term meaning to drive around an opposing gang’s territory,
looking for targets.8 Anyone associated with MGS could be considered a target for
NorthPak.9 If the opportunity arose, NorthPak would do a “drill,” a slang term for a
shooting.10 Gang members kept “score” of the number of deaths on each side,11 and
it was common practice for members to brag to others about their hits.12 In June
2021, most of the original NorthPak members had been indicted for gang
participation (and related crimes) and were incarcerated; Lecompte was not.13
(4) Several violent attacks resulted in Lecompte’s convictions at issue in
this appeal. The first two occurred on June 30, 2021. At approximately 3:40 p.m.,
a Door Dash delivery worker left the engine running in her 2007 Toyota Avalon
6 Id. at A2228. 7 Id. at A2256, A2236, A2273, A1637-38. 8 Id. at A2250. 9 Id. at A2241. 10 Id. at A1636-37, A2444-45. 11 Id. at A2256, A2350. 12 Id. at A2446-47, A2482. 13 Id. at A1642-43. 3 while she delivered an order to a home in New Castle. When she turned back to her
car, she saw three young Black men get into the Avalon and speed off. The Avalon,
which was low on gas, was equipped with a GPS tracker and an ignition-locking
device. The Avalon was tracked to a Wawa gas station on Naamans Road in
Claymont. Surveillance video from the Wawa showed the Avalon pulling up to a
gas pump at 4:16 p.m. and three Black men—the driver, wearing a black shirt and
carrying a satchel across his chest, and two passengers, wearing red and white shirts,
respectively—exiting the car and entering the Wawa, where the man in the black
shirt made a purchase with his cell phone. Several minutes after the three men
returned to the Avalon, the surveillance video showed them leaving the Wawa
parking lot on foot—presumably, after being unable to restart the Avalon—in the
direction of Society Drive.
(5) Surveillance video from the Naamans Village Apartments, located
directly across Society Drive from the Wawa, showed the same three Black men—
the man in the black shirt and satchel now with a gray sweatshirt draped over his
body—enter the apartment complex. A Naamans Village Apartments resident
reported that at approximately 4:40 p.m., three Black men approached her in the
apartment parking lot, and one of the men gestured toward a bag he was carrying as
he demanded the keys to her gray Honda Accord. At trial, the victim testified that
she feared that the man who took her keys was armed and identified the men in the
4 surveillance video as the men who robbed her. The Accord was eventually
recovered in a parking lot in Philadelphia—the same parking lot where a black
Nissan Maxima was reported stolen on July 1, 2021, around 9:10 p.m.
(6) The third event took place on July 2, 2021, when Quinton Dorsey was
murdered. Around 6:20 p.m., Dorsey, a well-known entrepreneur of the clothing
brand “Bag Season” and a potential NorthPak target because he was friends with
several MGS gang members and had honored fallen MGS gang members in social
media posts,14 was sitting on the front steps of 917 North Lombard Street with his
grandmother, Deborah Cleveland,15 and his young cousins. Deborah testified that a
black car pulled up and two armed Black men—the driver, wearing a gray sweatshirt,
and his passenger, a shorter man wearing all black—jumped out. The man in the
gray sweatshirt pushed Deborah aside and shot Dorsey multiple times in the head at
point-blank range. The two men then leapt back into the black car and fled.
Dorsey’s fourteen-year-old sister also witnessed the shooting and called 911,
describing the shooter as a Black male wearing a gray hoodie. Dorsey’s grandfather,
Marshall Cleveland, was inside the house when the shooting took place but ran to
the front door when he heard gunfire. Marshall testified that the shooter was a Black
male with a distinctive eyebrow—with what looked like razor marks running
14 Id. at A2366-70, A2379, A2478. 15 For clarity, we refer to Dorsey’s grandparents by their first names. We intend no familiarity or disrespect. 5 through it—who was wearing a hoodie and a face mask. Police found eight spent
shell casings at the scene. Deborah identified Lecompte as the shooter from a six-
person lineup within hours of the shooting.
(7) Surveillance video captured the car used by the assailant as it
approached 917 Lombard: at 6:19 p.m., City Watch camera footage showed a black
Nissan with heavily tinted windows traveling down 10th Street toward Lombard;
and a still photograph from a residential camera located at 925 Lombard Street
captured the same black vehicle traveling eastbound toward 917 Lombard moments
before the shooting.
(8) Several more violent events took place on July 4, 2021. Around 6:45
a.m., a woman was robbed at gunpoint of approximately $500 in cash at the Sunoco
gas station at 30th and Market. The robbery was captured on the Sunoco’s
surveillance video, which showed two Black men, one wearing a red-and-black
hoodie and the other a navy “Gap” hoodie, exit a black car with heavily tinted
windows, approach the victim, take something from her, and flee in the vehicle. Two
hours later, a twelve-year-old was robbed at gunpoint on 35th Street. The robber,
described as a Black male wearing a red hoodie and black pants, first approached
the twelve-year-old while driving a black vehicle with tinted windows and then
returned on foot and robbed the child at gunpoint. A residential camera captured a
6 black vehicle with tinted windows driving by the scene and, minutes later, a man in
a red-and-black sweatshirt fleeing on foot toward a nearby alley.
(9) Shortly thereafter, at 9:02 a.m., police received a 911 call reporting that
a Black male wearing a red-and-black sweatshirt was shooting indiscriminately at
the corner of 30th and Tatnall Streets. A resident reported to a responding officer
that he had noticed an unfamiliar black car with tinted windows and Pennsylvania
tags pull up nearby and heard shooting shortly thereafter. Police recovered five spent
shell casings from the scene. The ballistics evidence showed that the shell casings
found at the 30th and Tatnall crime scene and the shell casings found at the Dorsey
murder scene—all 9 mm Luger with a Blazer headstamp—were fired from the same
firearm. In two live videos posted to Lecompte’s Instagram account during the
evening hours of July 4, Lecompte could be seen wearing a black headwrap and a
red-and-black Bag Season hoodie. On July 6, the twelve-year-old robbery victim
identified Lecompte as his robber from a six-person lineup.
(10) More tragedy followed. At approximately 10:40 a.m. on July 5,
Matima Miller, a successful TikTok entrepreneur and a potential NorthPak target
because he was from the Southbridge neighborhood,16 was shot at point-blank range
as he and his roommate returned home from picking up breakfast at McDonald’s.
The shooter made eye contact with Miller’s roommate, who was standing right next
16 App. to Opening Br. at A2481. 7 to Miller, before shooting Miller. Miller’s roommate described the shooter as a
Black male carrying a black gun and wearing a red-and-black “Bag Season” hoodie
and a ski mask. Within hours of the shooting, Miller’s roommate sent Miller’s older
brother, Rahkim, a picture of Lecompte and identified him as Miller’s shooter. On
July 14, 2021, Miller’s roommate spoke with police and identified Lecompte as the
shooter from a six-person lineup. Multiple witnesses saw a black car with heavily
tinted windows at the scene, and surveillance video from a BP gas station camera
and three City Watch cameras captured a four-door black car with tinted windows
approaching the scene prior to the shooting and leaving the scene immediately
afterward.
(11) The stolen black Maxima was recovered on July 7, 2021, in Knollwood,
a NorthPak-friendly territory, and processed for evidence. Lecompte’s fingerprint
was found on the exterior of the driver’s side door and two 9 mm Luger cartridges
were recovered from the interior of the car. The owner of the stolen Maxima testified
that the Maxima had unique 19-inch black rims, a spoiler, and custom dark tinted
windows. He identified as his the black Maxima shown in still shots from the
Sunoco surveillance video, the Lombard Street residential camera footage, the 35th
Street residential camera footage, and the City Watch camera footage taken at the
intersection of D Street and South Heald Street after the Miller murder.
8 (12) The sequence of tragic events came to a dramatic end following several
violent crimes that took place on July 10, 2021. At about 3:30 a.m., a Wilmington
resident was returning to his home on West 39th Street when two Black males, one
of whom was described as wearing black gloves and a black jacket with a reflective
strip on its back, stole his 2020 silver Nissan Maxima. The male wearing the black
jacket pointed a silver handgun in the victim’s face, took roughly $200 in cash from
the victim’s pocket, and threatened to kill the victim if he came looking for them.
Roughly 30 minutes later, at 4 a.m., Lecompte posted an Instagram live video in
which he could be seen wearing a black headband and a black jacket with a white
emblem on the left chest and distinctive white drawstrings. The video showed
Lecompte driving recklessly down a highway, as evidenced by images of green
highway signs passing by quickly in the background and a view of the car’s
speedometer, at which Lecompte pointed the camera and which reflected that he was
driving over 100 mph. Two hours later, Lecompte posted another Instagram live
video from the inside of a vehicle in which Lecompte could be seen wearing the
same black jacket and during which Lecompte stated that he “got TJ in some sh*t.”17
The silver Maxima was recovered in Northeast Philadelphia on July 18.
(13) Around 7:30 a.m., a red Chrysler 300 with heavily tinted windows and
Pennsylvania tags was stolen from a LuKoil gas station in Chester, Pennsylvania.
17 Id. at A1603. 9 Back in Delaware, at roughly 4:15 p.m., police receive an anonymous call reporting
that shots had been fired in the area of the 600th block of North Jefferson Street.
The caller reported that the suspect fled in a red Chrysler 300 with tinted windows.
Surveillance video from a liquor store on Jefferson Street captured a red Chrysler
coming to a stop in front of the store and three individuals wielding guns exiting the
vehicle. Pedestrians on the busy street scattered. Two of the armed men, one of
whom wore a jacket with distinctive white drawstrings, appeared to chase someone
out of range of the video, and the third shot in the direction of the liquor store. The
men quickly regrouped and fled in the Chrysler. Two 9 mm shell casings and two
.380 caliber shell casings were recovered from the scene.
(14) Shortly after the shooting, police spotted a red Chrysler 300 with tinted
windows at the intersection of 25th Street and North Market Street and pursued it.
The Chrysler led police in a high-speed chase onto Interstate 495, a chase that
continued past congested traffic and onto the shoulder of the interstate where the
Chrysler ultimately collided with a stopped Nissan Rogue—injuring the six
occupants of the Rogue—and came to a stop. The Chrysler’s occupants fled. Two
occupants immediately ran to the adjacent tree line. One occupant, wearing all
black, ran along the guardrail before leaping over it and running into the adjacent
woods. Police soon apprehended a shirtless and sweaty man—later identified as
Quincy Lee—in a nearby residential area.
10 (15) The Chrysler was processed for evidence. Lecompte’s cell phone,
Lecompte’s driver’s license, a loaded 9 mm handgun, a box of disposable blue latex
gloves, and a spent shell casing from a .380 caliber handgun were among the items
found in the Chrysler. Lecompte’s fingerprint was found on the Chrysler’s exterior
gas lid. A loaded silver Smith & Wesson handgun was later discovered wedged in
the center console.
(16) A search of Lecompte’s phone uncovered more incriminating evidence:
a photograph of Lecompte wearing a gray sweatshirt on June 29; a receipt from
Wawa for a $10 purchase made on June 30 at 4:19 p.m.; a notification that
Lecompte’s phone had connected to a Nissan’s CarPlay system at 9:13 p.m. on July
1 (one minute after the black Maxima was reported stolen in Pennsylvania); videos
taken at 3:29 a.m. and 11:42 p.m. on July 4 in which Lecompte could be seen
wearing a red-and-black “Bag Season” sweatshirt; a video taken on July 6 in which
Lecompte could be seen wearing a black headwrap and a black “Snipes” hoodie and
during which he palmed a silver handgun; and a video taken at 10 a.m. on July 10 in
which Lecompte could be seen seated in the interior of the stolen red Chrysler 300.
An extraction summary from Lecompte’s phone also showed that Lecompte had run
internet searches for various NorthPak affiliates and members, including himself, on
June 21.
11 (17) Among the more than 60 witnesses who testified during the sixteen-day
trial was former NorthPak affiliate Tyhir (“TJ”) Fields Johnson. Johnson testified
that he was with Lecompte, who was armed with a silver 9 mm semi-automatic
handgun, when they robbed the Wilmington resident of his Nissan Maxima on July
10 and during Lecompte’s live Instagram stories posted early that morning. Johnson
confirmed that he and Lecompte took the Maxima to Philadelphia, where they left
it, and that they returned to Wilmington in a stolen red Chrysler 300. Johnson also
testified to several conversations he had with Lecompte. In the first, Johnson and
Lecompte discussed the video of the Jefferson Street shooting, which had been
circulating on social media. Lecompte explained to Johnson that he and the other
two men shown in the video were chasing someone who was associated with CTB
and went by the nickname “Shifty.” Lecompte also told Johnson that they had been
chased by the police after the shooting and had to abandon the Chrysler and he had
left a silver 9 mm semi-automatic weapon (the same one used during the carjacking
of the 2020 silver Maxima) in the car. Johnson testified that on another occasion,
prior to the July 10 crime spree, Lecompte laughed as he bragged about killing
Miller, who, Lecompte claimed, had threatened to kill him because he had killed
Dorsey. Lecompte also boasted to Johnson that he killed Dorsey in front of his
grandmother. Finally, Johnson told the jury that Lecompte had asked him to dispose
of a red-and-black “Bag Season” hoodie and other clothing because he had been
12 wearing them when he killed someone. Johnson took Lecompte’s clothes and loaned
him a black “Snipes” hoodie to wear.
(18) Quincy Lee, who knew Lecompte through their mutual friend, Zono
Gathers, also testified. He told the jury that he, Gathers, and Lecompte went into
Wilmington on July 10 to “shoot at people and stuff like that.”18 Lecompte drove
them in a red Chrysler. All three men were wearing disposable latex gloves and
were armed—Lee with a .380 caliber Smith & Wesson, Lecompte with a silver 9
mm handgun, and Gathers with a Glock ghost gun. Lecompte stopped the car on
North Jefferson because they saw a person from the east side, “Shifty Leer.” When
they exited the car, Lecompte and Gathers chased Shifty, and Lee started “shooting
at anybody.”19 Lecompte and Gathers ran back to the car, and Lee scrambled into
the driver’s seat and drove the car away before switching seats with Lecompte. The
trio was planning to head to the east side of the city before the police found them
and gave chase. After the Chrysler crashed into the Rogue, Lecompte, Lee, and
Gathers split ways and ran. Lee also told the jury that earlier in the day, Lecompte
had bragged to Lee that he had shot Dorsey in the head in front of Dorsey’s
grandmother.
18 Id. at A1987. 19 Id. at A1994. 13 (19) Tyrie Burton, a former MGS member, testified, among other things,
that he exchanged words with Lecompte in October 2023 when their paths crossed
at the courthouse. Lecompte told him that he was “smoking on” Dorsey—a slang
phrase meaning “either … you killed them or somebody you be with killed him.”20
(20) Kyaire Finch, an inmate housed on the same pod as Lecompte at
Howard R. Young Correctional Center in September 2022, testified that he
overheard Lecompte apologizing to Miller’s cousin, a NorthPak gang member, for
killing Miller.
(21) Stanley Jones, an original member of NorthPak, testified that Lecompte
had bragged to him about killing Dorsey during a conversation Lecompte and Jones
had in the booking-and-receiving room at Howard R. Young Correctional Institute.
Specifically, Lecompte boasted that he got out of the car to shoot Dorsey: “[He] was
just bragging about how, like, if you shoot, like, if you do a drive-by, you’re
considered, like a coward, like, you were scared to get out…. So, he’s just bragging,
like, I got out [of] the car…. He actually got out and started shooting.”21 Similarly,
Lecompte also confessed to Jones that he killed Miller: “[I]f … the shoe was on the
other foot, [MGS] would have did the same thing to us.”22
20 Id. at A2378. 21 Id. at A2475. 22 Id. at A2480. 14 (22) The jury found Lecompte guilty of gang participation and multiple
violent crimes, including two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of first-
degree robbery, one count of attempted first-degree assault, fourteen counts of first-
degree reckless endangering, four counts of receiving stolen property, theft of a
motor vehicle, and numerous conspiracy and weapons firearm-related offenses. The
jury acquitted Lecompte of charges arising from a non-fatal shooting that took place
on June 9, 2021. The Superior Court sentenced Lecompte to life in prison for each
murder conviction and to a decades-long term of incarceration for the remaining
convictions. This is Lecompte’s direct appeal.
(23) On appeal, counsel has filed a brief and a motion to withdraw under
Rule 26(c). Counsel asserts that, after a complete and careful examination of the
record, he could not identify any arguably appealable issues. Counsel informed
Lecompte of the provisions of Rule 26(c), provided him with a copy of the motion
to withdraw and a draft of the accompanying brief, and informed him of his right to
supplement his attorney’s presentation. Lecompte has raised issues for the Court’s
consideration, which counsel attached to the Rule 26(c) brief. The State has
responded to the Rule 26(c) brief and has moved to affirm the Superior Court’s
judgment.
(24) The standard and scope of review applicable to the consideration of a
motion to withdraw and an accompanying brief under Rule 26(c) is twofold. First,
15 the Court must be satisfied that defense counsel has made a conscientious
examination of the record and the law for claims that could be arguably raised on
appeal. 23 Second, the Court must conduct its own review of the record and
determine whether the appeal is so totally devoid of at least arguably appealable
issues that it can be decided without an adversary presentation.24
(25) Lecompte raises three arguments for the Court’s consideration. First,
Lecompte argues that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction for
Dorsey’s murder. Similarly, Lecompte claims that the evidence was insufficient to
support his conviction for Miller’s murder. Finally, Lecompte questions the
credibility of the State’s gang expert.
(26) Lecompte did not seek a directed verdict or a judgment of acquittal for
either first-degree murder charge in the Superior Court. “In the absence of a motion
for directed verdict or for judgment of acquittal notwithstanding the verdict, this
Court reviews claims of insufficient evidence for plain error.”25 “Plain errors are
‘material defects’ that are apparent on the face of the record and that are basic,
serious, and fundamental in their character, and which clearly deprive an accused of
23 Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 83 (1988); McCoy v. Court of Appeals of Wis., 486 U.S. 429, 442 (1988); Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967). 24 Penson, 488 U.S. at 81-82. 25 Swan v. State, 820 A.2d 342, 358 (Del. 2003); see Williamson v. State, 113 A.3d 155, 157 (Del. 2015) (“[I]t is well-settled that in a jury trial, if a defendant fails to make a motion for acquittal to the trial court, the defendant has failed to preserve the right to appeal the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence to convict, and we ... apply the plain error standard of review.”). 16 a substantial right, or which clearly show manifest injustice.”26 As explained below,
we find no plain error here.
(27) The relevant inquiry when an insufficiency-of-the-evidence claim is
raised is whether any rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in the light most
favorable to the State, could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt.27 In making this inquiry, we do not distinguish between direct and
circumstantial evidence.28 When the determinations of fact turns on a question of
witness credibility, we will not substitute our opinion for that of the trier of fact. 29
(28) Here, the State charged Lecompte with intentionally causing Dorsey’s
death. Lecompte claims that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of the first-
degree murder of Dorsey because (i) Marshall Cleveland testified for the first time
at trial that Lecompte had distinctive marks in his eyebrows, and (ii) Marshall
testified that he had not seen a photograph of Lecompte before trial but Dorsey’s
sister testified that Marshall had, in fact, seen a photograph of Lecompte that
accompanied a news article on Lecompte’s arrest.
(29) We conclude that there was more than adequate evidence to support
Lecompte’s conviction for the first-degree murder of Dorsey, including, among
26 Loper v. State, 2020 WL 2843516, at *2 (Del. June 1, 2020) (citation modified). 27 Robinson v. State, 2025 WL 1303739, at *5 (Del. May 6, 2025). 28 McMullen v. State, 253 A.3d 107, 114 (Del. 2021). 29 O’Neal v. State, 2024 WL 981384, at *3 (Del. Mar. 6, 2024). 17 other evidence: (i) Deborah’s identification of Lecompte from a lineup within hours
of the shooting; (ii) surveillance video showing a stolen car that was ultimately
discovered with Lecompte’s fingerprint on the driver’s side door approaching the
site of the murder minutes beforehand; and (iii) the testimony of Lecompte’s
NorthPak associates and a MGS associate that Lecompte had bragged about killing
Dorsey. With respect to Lecompte’s specific claims, they relate to the credibility of
Marshall’s testimony and were competently explored by defense counsel on cross-
examination. As noted, credibility determinations are left to the sound discretion of
the jury. Viewing the evidence—direct and circumstantial—in the light most
favorable to the State, we find it evident that a rational trier of fact could have found
Lecompte guilty of Dorsey’s murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
(30) The State similarly charged Lecompte with intentionally causing
Miller’s death. Lecompte argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his
conviction for the first-degree murder of Miller because (i) Miller’s older brother
“made” Miller’s roommate give a statement to police, and (ii) Miller’s roommate’s
identification of Lecompte was “suggestive.” A review of the transcript belies
Lecompte’s first claim: when the prosecutor asked Miller’s roommate if anyone
forced him give a statement to the police, Miller’s roommate replied, “I was with
Rahkim.”30 And Miller’s roommate responded affirmatively when asked directly,
30 App. to Opening Br. at A1521-22. 18 “When you spoke to Detective Kirlin, did you do so voluntarily?”31 And while
Miller’s roommate appeared to be a reluctant witness, it was up to the jury to weigh
the credibility of his testimony. Lecompte’s second claim seems to be premised on
the fact that the picture associated with the Instagram profile that Miller’s roommate
shared with Rahkim was not of Lecompte. But the profile itself was associated with
Lecompte, and Miller’s roommate identified Lecompte as the shooter in pictures on
social media as well as from the police-generated six-pack lineup. Moreover, we
conclude that there was more than adequate evidence to support Lecompte’s
conviction for Miller’s murder, including, among other things: (i) Miller’s
roommate’s identification of Lecompte as Miller’s shooter to Rahkim within an hour
of the shooting; (ii) multiple surveillance videos showing a car consistent with the
eyewitnesses’ descriptions of the car driven by the shooter—and from which
Lecompte’s fingerprint was later found—approaching the murder site minutes
before the shooting and departing immediately after the shooting; and (iii) the
testimony of Lecompte’s NorthPak associates and a fellow prison inmate that
Lecompte had bragged about killing Miller. That is, viewing the evidence—direct
and circumstantial—in the light most favorable to the State, we conclude that a
rational trier of fact could have found Lecompte guilty of Miller’s murder beyond a
reasonable doubt.
31 Id. at 1522. 19 (31) Finally, Lecompte claims that the State’s gang expert, Daniel Masi,
misidentified him in Exhibit 58. We construe this claim to be an objection to Masi’s
qualification as an expert. Because Lecompte did not object to Masi’s qualifications
below, we also review this claim for plain error.32 There is no plain error here. The
Court has read the trial transcripts and examined the exhibits carefully. Although
the State used Masi to explain to the jury how NorthPak operated, in general, and
how certain social media posts could be perceived as slights worthy of retribution,
in particular, the vast majority of Masi’s testimony was duplicative—gang members
and associates, themselves, testified to NorthPak’s method of operation. And Masi’s
failure to identify Lecompte in one photograph, in which the subjects were all
wearing masks, does not meaningfully call into question his qualifications to testify
as an expert witness on gang culture.
(32) The Court has reviewed the record carefully and has concluded that
Lecompte’s appeal is wholly without merit and devoid of any arguably appealable
issues. We are also satisfied that Lecompte’s counsel has made a conscientious
effort to examine the record and the law and has properly determined that Lecompte
could not raise a meritorious claim in this appeal.
32 Del. Supr. Ct. R. 8. 20 NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the judgment of the Superior
Court is AFFIRMED. Counsel’s motion to withdraw is moot.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ Collins J. Seitz, Jr. Chief Justice