Driver’s License Bribery Scheme Leads To Guilty Pleas

An employee of the state Division of Motor Vehicles and a man who bribed her have pleaded guilty to issuing drivers’ licenses to people who hadn’t earned them. Danielle Haldeman, 29, of Greenwood, who worked at the DMV facility in Georgetown, accepted bribes from Michelet Pouloute, 44, of Dover, who served as an interpreter for recent non-English speaking immigrants. Pouloute would give Haldeman cash, and then Haldeman provided licenses despite the recipients not having proper documentation or testing in a scheme that lasted from August to mid-October 2017. Haldeman pleaded guilty to 1 count of Felony Receiving a Bribe, as well as 1 count of Misdemeanor Official Misconduct. Pouloute pleaded guilty to 1 count of Felony Bribery. Each were sentenced by a Superior Court judge to 1 year of probation and restitution to their victims. All 41 of the licenses have been cancelled and returned to the DMV. DOJ’s Office of Civil of Rights & Public Trust, the Division of Motor Vehicles, and Delaware State Police worked together on the investigation and prosecution. DOJ paralegal Trisha McGinnis assisted with the prosecution.

An ongoing effort in Delaware to test previously untested sexual assault kits led to an arrest and guilty plea for a 38-year-old Chester, PA man. Hayim Raison pleaded guilty to 2 counts of Rape Second Degree. DNA evidence revealed that between January 2014 and December 2018, Raison raped 7 women in secluded areas throughout Wilmington, making violent threats in many of the attacks. In order to resolve the case with the certainty of guilty pleas and to not put the victims through the difficulty and uncertainty of a trial, guilty pleas to 2 counts were accepted by prosecutors after consultation with the victims. However, the sentencing process will recognize the attacks against all 7 women and all 7 will have the opportunity to testify before a Superior Court judge as part of the sentencing in January. The US Department of Justice Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), along with the Delaware Department of Justice, and local law enforcement agencies and organizations are committed to bringing justice to victims, identifying offenders and helping to solve more cold cases. Anyone who has had a sexual assault kit collected and would like more information should contact the Delaware Victims Center at 1-800-VICTIM1 or the Delaware Criminal Justice Council, SAKI Coordinator at 302 577-8717 or cjc.delaware.gov. All victims of Sexual Assault can receive support and information by calling the following Rape Crisis Hotlines 24/7: New Castle County and Sussex County – YWCA SARC at 1-800-773-5870, Kent and Sussex County – Lifeline Rape Crisis at 1-800-262-9800.

A New Castle County Superior Court jury convicted a Pennsylvania man for sexually assaulting a child. Darth Heald, 41, of Honey Brook, PA was convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Child by a Person in a Position of Trust, Supervision or Authority Second Degree, Dangerous Crime Against a Child, Unlawful Sexual Contact First Degree, and Unlawful Imprisonment Second Degree. In September 2018, Heald was staying with family members in Delaware and inappropriately touched a child who was in the house playing with children who lived there. Deputy Attorney General Cari Chapman prosecuted the case with DOJ social workers Lisa Rapko and Claudia Melton, paralegal Jayna Quillen, senior administrative assistant Monica Walker, special investigator, Brian Daly, and Detective Kevin Mackie of the New Castle County Police Department. A Superior Court judge will sentence Heald in January.

The man who drove the getaway car from an armed robbery in Wilmington has pleaded guilty. In September 2018, Ronald Comeger, 34, of Wilmington, waited in his car outside of Ainsley’s Pharmacy in the Miller Road Shopping Center, while Lance Parker, 28, of Wilmington, was inside stealing narcotics at gunpoint and then locking three employees in a secure cage meant to store drugs. A clerk at the pharmacy put a tracking device in the bag of prescription bottle that Parker stole, and Wilmington and State Police stopped the car a short time later. Police took Parker into custody at the scene, and arrested Comeger a few blocks away when he tried to run. Comeger pleaded guilty to Kidnapping First Degree, Robbery Second Degree, and Conspiracy Second Degree. A Superior Court judge will sentence Comeger in January. Parker pleaded guilty in April to Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Robbery Second Degree, and Conspiracy Second Degree, and will be sentenced later this month. Deputy Attorneys General Joseph Grubb and Matthew Hicks prosecuted the cases with the assistance of DOJ social worker Kristen Fluharty-Emory.