Family can't forgive 20-year-old man sentenced for Knollwood shoot-out that left 2 dead
A 20-year-old on Friday was sentenced to more than two decades in prison for murder in New Castle County's Knollwood neighborhood in 2021.
Israel Lecompte was sentenced to 27 years in prison for killing Nathan Smith in what prosecutors described as a botched robbery that led to the death of Smith, as well as a 16-year-old.
Lecompte previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, assault, attempted robbery and a weapons charge leading to Friday's sentencing hearing in Wilmington.
What prosecutors said happened
Deputy Attorney General John Downs told the court Lecompte and multiple others carjacked a Chevrolet Impala on a Wednesday in July in Chester, Pennsylvania. He said they cruised around Wilmington looking to shoot "ops," a slang term for rival gang members before heading toward Claymont and the Knollwood community with the intent to rob Smith.
But Smith was armed and a gun battle broke out. Ultimately, Smith was killed, as was Lecompte's associate, 16-year-old Jasir Brown.
Lecompte and Smith's girlfriend also suffered nonfatal gunshot wounds, Downs said.
Family speaks
Downs urged New Castle County Superior Court President Judge Jan Jurden to put Lecompte in prison beyond the minimum mandatory time his plea deal required.
He said that Lecompte's life had "challenges," and he had also been afforded court-ordered interventions and treatment, but returned to a "life" of "carjackings, robberies and shootings." He said Lecompte had displayed a lack of remorse and suggested he only pleaded to the charges because his DNA was "all over the crime scene because he had been shot."
Smith's mother and sister spoke to the judge at the hearing. Smith's girlfriend at the time, who was also shot in the botched robbery, addressed the court, as well, via a written statement.
Smith's mother showed Lecompte a picture of her son and said that he does not deserve forgiveness. She said she hopes he suffers every day in prison, that nobody visits him and that he dies there.
"Those are my hopes and dreams for you," she said. "May you rot in hell."
'Stuff went wrong'
In mitigation, Lecompte's attorney, Adam Windett, told the court that his client had shown remorse and didn't go out that day with the intent to kill anyone.
He spoke about a "long history of trauma" in Lecompte's upbringing and underdeveloped intellect. He also said while in juvenile lockup, Lecompte showed "hope for rehabilitation" and excelled for periods in that setting.
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Lecompte addressed Smith's family, apologizing and stating that he takes responsibility for the crime and that he will use his time in prison to better himself. He said he didn't set out to hurt Smith.
"Stuff went wrong," he told the judge.
Sentence and other killings
Ultimately Judge Jurden sentenced Lecompte to 27 years imprisonment. She called the situation "tragic" and told Lecompte she hopes he thinks about the harm he has caused every day.
Lecompte also faces two additional murder charges, as well as a slew of nonfatal shooting charges, set for trial next year.
He was indicted alongside several others for participation in the NorthPak gang in November 2021. He is charged with murder in the deaths of Quinton Dorsey and Matima Miller, killings that occurred weeks before Smith's murder in July 2021.
Miller, 19, was a famous Tiktok personality with more than 2.6 million people following the local teen who went by the name Swavy. He was shot dead on the 700 block of Elbert Place in the southern Wilmington community.
Dorsey, 22, died on the front steps of his grandmother's Lombard Street home in Wilmington after he was shot.
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com.
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware shoot-out that left 2 dead lands man 27 years in prison
