Who is Randon Wilkerson? Man convicted of killing Delaware police officer Corporal Keith Heacook sentenced to life in prison
SUSSEX COUNTY, DELAWARE: Randon Wilkerson, 32, was convicted on Monday, October 16, for the murder of a Delaware police officer Corporal Keith Heacook and the assault of an elderly couple in April 2021.
He will serve the rest of his life in prison, according to the Delaware Department of Justice, as reported by Delware Public Media.
Randon Wilkerson found guilty of 16 charges in 90-minute trial
Wilkerson was reportedly found guilty of 16 charges, including two counts of first-degree murder and 11 other felonies.
The bench trial, which found him guilty, lasted only 90 minutes in Sussex County Superior Court.
He was convicted for the murder of Corporal Keith Heacook, 54, a 22-year veteran of the Delmar Police Department, and for attacking an elderly couple across the street from where Heacook was found unconscious.
Randon Wilkerson assaulted police officer and an elderly couple in April 2021
The incident occured on the morning of April 25, 2021, when Heacook responded to a 911 call for a fight in progress at a home in Delmar, Delaware.
A caller reported that Wilkerson was being disorderly, fighting with other residents and destroying items.
When Heacook arrived at the scene, he was confronted by Wilkerson who assaulted him and left him with “significant” head injuries.
Heacook was declared “clinically dead” three days later at the hospital.
Police also discovered that Wilkerson had assaulted an elderly couple at their home across the street from where Heacook was attacked. The couple was also rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.
AG says Randon Wilkerson's conviction was fullfillment of promise to hold him accountable
Attorney General Kathy Jennings said in a news release that Wilkerson’s conviction was a fulfillment of the promise to hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
“Cpl Keith Heacook served his Department and his community honorably and faithfully for more than two decades. He was stolen from us far too soon. We lost that day a father, a husband, a brother, a son, a public servant, and a protector,” Jennings said.
“In the days following his murder, and the vicious assault on two elderly victims, we committed that the Defendant would be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Today, thanks to the tireless work of our prosecutors and law enforcement, that promise can be fulfilled," Jennings added.
Heacook is survived by his wife Susan and 14-year-old son Matthew. He had been with the Delmar Police Department since 1998.
He was inspired to pursue a career in law enforcement when he was in a car wreck nearly 30 years ago.