Three years for man who supplied guns to young gang members

A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for supplying guns to young Wilmington gang members.

In addition to prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Richard G. Andrews on Friday sentenced Darius Shields-Dryden to three years probation. 

Shields-Dryden pleaded guilty in January to a five counts of making false statements to federally licensed firearms dealers in connection with the acquisition of guns that he was buying for juveniles. 

His crimes were highlighted in a News Journal series published last month that analyzed shooting statistics covering a 3½-year period through June of this year from the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that compiles law enforcement and news media reports.

The per capita data in Wilmington showed that roughly 3 out of every 1,000 adolescents are injured or killed every year from gun violence.

Shields-Dryden's actions show how easy it is for children to obtain guns through the practice of straw purchases, which are common nationwide, according to a 2000 study by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The federal agency analyzed 1,530 firearms seized in drug trafficking investigations and found nearly half of the guns were obtained via straw purchase.

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Last year, police pulled surveillance footage from Cabela’s at Christiana Mall that showed 17-year-old Jahlil Lewis, a convicted member of the Only My Brothers street gang, looking at guns with Shields-Dryden.

Because he had a clean criminal record, Shields-Dryden was able to buy an Astra A-80 .45-caliber pistol and a Smith & Wesson Chiefs Special .40-caliber for Lewis and his friends. These semi-automatic guns cost between $400 and $700 apiece.

On May 19, 2016, Shields-Dryden was seen alone buying a Ruger LC 9 mm pistol – the same gun found fully loaded on Lewis when he was arrested hours after a rival gang member allegedly murdered his childhood friend, 15-year-old Brandon Wingo. The teen and others were arrested en route to a rival gang member's home on Shearman Street already under police surveillance, according to federal court documents.

Prosecutors used photos found on the cellphone of Jahlil Lewis and entered into court evidence, to help garner a guilty plea from the indicted teen. Police also searched his cellphone and found pictures of Lewis and his brother, Na-Quan, flaunting the shiny black Astra A-80 across their chests, and sliding the Smith & Wesson Chiefs Special across a plaid bedspread in their Newark bedroom, federal prosecutors said.

Chains of text messages showed Shields-Dryden warning the teens to not use the handguns until he could report them as stolen to federal authorities.

In the same texts, Shields-Dryden offered to buy more weapons.

"Yo dnt do nthn wit dem strap n did ur bro still wanna go get da jawn," he wrote in one text message, referencing the guns with the slang terms "strap" and "jawn." 

The text messages and surveillance video helped state and federal prosecutors get multiple convictions.

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.