State v. Walters

• Court: Superior Court of Delaware
• Decided: January 16, 2025
• Docket: 2309010713
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

STATE OF DELAWARE, ) ) v. ) ID No: 2309010713 ) DEMPSEY WALTERS, ) ) Defendant. )

Submitted: January 13, 2025 Decided: January 16, 2025

ORDER

Upon consideration of Defendant’s Motion for a Sentence Reduction DENIED

1. Defendant, Dempsey Walters, filed the instant Motion for Sentence Reduction

on January 13, 2025.1 Defendant asks this Court to modify his sentence based

on the primary mitigating factor brought by Defendant which was the Post-

Traumatic Stress Disorder he suffered from at the time of the incident this

case concerns.2

2. On April 5, 2024, Defendant pled guilty to one (1) count of Deprivation of

Civil Rights, two (2) counts of Official Misconduct, one (1) count of Assault

Second Degree, and two (2) counts of Assault Third Degree.3

1 Docket Item (“D.I.”) 36. 2 Id. 3 D.I. 33. 3. On October 15, 2024, Defendant was sentenced to five (5) years at Level V

suspended after three (3) months for two (2) years at Level III for Assault

Second Degree; five (5) years at Level V suspended after six (6) months for

one (1) year at Level III for Deprivation of Civil Rights; one (1) year at Level

V suspended after three (3) months for one (1) year at Level III for Assault

Third; one (1) year at Level V suspended for one (1) year at Level III for

Assault Third; one (1) year at Level V suspended for one (1) year at Level III

for Official Misconduct; and one (1) year at Level V suspended for one (1)

year at Level III for Official Misconduct.4

4. Under Superior Court Criminal Rule 35(b), “[t]he court may reduce a sentence

of imprisonment on a motion made within 90 days after the sentence is

imposed.”5 If the motion is filed later than 90 days after imposition of the

sentence, the Court will only consider the motion “in extraordinary

circumstances.”6 The Court may consider a sentence reduction motion

“without presentation, hearing, or argument.”7

5. Defendant’s sentence was imposed on October 15, 2024, and Defendant filed

the instant Motion on January 13, 2025. Therefore, Defendant complies with

the 90-day filing period required by Rule 35(b).

4 Id. 5 Super. Ct. Crim. R. 35(b). 6 Id. 7 Id. 6. After careful review of Defendant’s Motion, the entire record of the case, and

all sentencing information provided, Defendant’s Post-Traumatic Stress

Disorder when juxtaposed to the aggravating factors does not warrant a

sentence reduction.

IT IS SO ORDERED that your motion for reduction or modification of sentence is DENIED.

/s/ Francis J. Jones, Jr. Francis J. Jones, Jr., Judge

cc: Original to Prothonotary John S. Malik, Esquire Daniel McBride, Deputy Attorney General