Dover Police Department Announces Arrest of Suspects in Delaware State University Homicide

**UPDATED 5/7/2024 SEE BELOW**

The Dover Police Department held a press conference on Monday, May 6th, 2024 at 10:00 a.m., to announce the arrest of two suspects in the Delaware State University Homicide that occurred on April 21st. Details of the arrest and Chief Johnson’s statement are below.

A link to view the news conference will be posted shortly.

“Good morning everyone.  First, I would like to say thank you to all the participants involved in this briefing and to the members of the media for your attendance.

Most importantly, I want to express my deepest condolences to the family of Camay De Silva.  Camay’s family has been in our thoughts from the moment this senseless act of violence occurred and our hope is that these apprehensions can help begin the process of healing.

The Dover Police Department is announcing the arrest of Destry Jones, age 20, and Damien Hinson, age 18, both of Dover, for the murder of Camay Mitchell De Silva.

Mr. Jones and Mr. Hinson are also charged with the attempted murder of a 20-year-old male and a 21-year-old male, also from Dover.  For the record, Mr. Jones and Mr. Hinson are not enrolled as students at Delaware State University, they have no affiliation with the School.

As a matter of additional background, the Dover Police Department has been collaborating with the Delaware State University PD with added safety patrols at nighttime on weekends. 

On Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 1:40 a.m., the assigned Dover PD team heard what they believed to be shots fired in the area of Gate 3 along College Road and responded to investigate. 

At nearly the same time, Delaware State University Police Department received a report of shots fired on the grounds of the Main Campus.  This phoned-in report stated the shots were associated with a physical fight in the area of the Tubman-Laws dormitory with the participants fleeing across College Road toward parking lot 16.  Neither agency located a fight, nor a crime scene, based on first available information.

After a separate call was made to report a female on the ground near the Warren-Franklin dormitory, Officers responded and located Camay suffering from a gunshot wound to her head.  Her body was situated to the north of the breezeway that connects the east and west sections of that dorm.  Warren-Franklin dormitory is located in the immediate vicinity of Tubman-Laws dormitory.

Paramedics were immediately called and Camay was transported to Bayhealth Kent Campus for treatment.  Tragically, she died from the injuries sustained during this incident.

As we have previously released, Miss De Silva was not involved in this altercation and we do not believe she was the intended target of the gunfire which originated from the breezeway area.

In continued collaboration, it was determined that Dover PD would take the lead in this investigation with DSUPD and many of our other law enforcement partners in support.  Our investigation involved several witness interviews, extensive reviews of surveillance video, and forensic crime scene examinations.  

Investigators ultimately learned that Mr. Jones and Mr. Hinson were part of a group that participated in the previously described physical altercation outside the Tubman Laws building with the previously noted 20 and 21-year-old males before any shots were fired. 

It was also established that Jones and Hinson disengaged from the physical fight and took part in firing the shots that claimed the life of Miss De Silva.  Detectives obtained warrants for Mr. Jones and Mr. Hinson and began looking for them.

On May 2^nd, 2024, Jones was arrested at an apartment in the 1400 block of Prospect Place, in Brooklyn, New York.  The apprehension was conducted by the U.S. Marshals New York New Jersey Regional Task Force Brooklyn Division, the New York City Police Department, and Detectives from Dover Police.

Later that same day, Hinson was also taken into custody in the parking lot of Gateway West Shopping Center, located at 1030 Forrest Avenue here in Dover, by the US Marshals First State Fugitive Task Force, Dover Police Drugs, Vice and Organized Crime Unit, Dover Police S.O.R.T and Delaware Probation and Parole.

Mr. Jones is being held in New York awaiting extradition on the following charges:

1 count of Murder in the First Degree

2 Counts of Attempted Murder in the First Degree

1 Count of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony

1 Count of Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited

1 Count of Conspiracy in the First Degree

Mr. Hinson was committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on cash bail exceeding 3 million dollars on the following charges:

1 count of Murder in the First Degree

2 Counts of Attempted Murder in the First Degree

1 Count of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony

1 Count of Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited

1 Count of Conspiracy in the First Degree”

The Dover Police Department would also like to give a special thank you to the Delaware State Police, Wilmington Police Department and the United States Attorneys Office District of Delaware, for the critical assistance they provided during this investigation.

Both suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.