Three Sentenced in Connection with Gang-Related Kidnapping and Murder; Shooter Receives Life Sentence

Wilmington, Delaware – Last week, three defendants were sentenced in connection with a kidnapping and murder committed by members of the Shotgun Crips gang, announced Julianne E. Murray, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware.  Kimon Burton-Roberson, 32, who executed the victim by shooting him in the head with an assault rifle, received a life sentence.  Jamil Salahuddin, 22, who helped abduct the victim out of his Wilmington home and beat him in the head with a tire iron, received a sentence of 17.5 years in prison.  And Stephanie Bultes-Ramirez, 27, who drove the vehicle in which the victim was transported from Wilmington to Philadelphia and ultimately to the murder scene in Yeadon, Pennsylvania, received a sentence of 10 years in prison.   Chief District Judge Colm F. Connolly pronounced the sentences.         

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the Shotgun Crips targeted the victim, a 35-year-old Wilmington resident, after he and Burton-Roberson became embroiled in a dispute.  Shortly after midnight on July 21, 2021, members of the gang—including Burton-Roberson, Salahuddin, and Josiah Rivera—invaded the victim’s home.  They beat the victim with a tire iron and a pry bar, bound his hands behind his back with zip ties, and forced him into Burton-Roberson’s Jeep, which was being driven by Bultes-Ramirez.  The gang then drove the victim to Philadelphia, continuing to beat him on the drive. In Philadelphia, they picked up gang higher-up Dwayne Alexander, who directed the gang to an industrial park in Yeadon.  There, Burton-Roberson executed the still-bound victim by shooting him in the head with an assault rifle.  After the murder, the gang tried to cover its tracks by, among other things, scrubbing the Jeep for forensic evidence and terminating service on the cell-phone numbers they had been using that night.  

Two additional defendants are awaiting sentencing in federal court—Rodney Chambers, whose sentencing is scheduled for December 22, 2025, and Dwayne Alexander, whose sentencing is scheduled for January 27, 2026. A sixth defendant, Josiah Rivera, is awaiting sentencing in the Superior Court for the State of Delaware.  Rivera was not charged federally because he was a minor at the time of the crime.   

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Murray stated, “This crime was utterly depraved, and these lengthy prison sentences reflect the egregiousness of the offense.  The Department of Justice hopes that this case will send a clear message to other would-be gang members: gang-related violence will be met with the harshest possible penalties for all involved, no matter how large or small their role.”

“The FBI is proud to work alongside our state and local law enforcement partners to ensure the violent gang members involved in this horrific crime are held fully accountable. We hope their sentencings, including Kimon Burton-Roberson’s life sentence, deliver a sense of justice to the victim’s grieving family,” said FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul. “This investigation demonstrates the FBI’s relentless determination to remove violent offenders from our communities.”

“We appreciate the efforts of the Department of Justice to ensure that these violent offenders are held accountable for their actions,” said Wilmington Police Chief Wilfredo Campos. “These lengthy prison sentences send a clear message that senseless violence like this will never be tolerated.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Task Force, the Wilmington Police Department, the Yeadon Borough Police Department, the Pennsylvania State Police, and Delaware Probation and Parole.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin L. Wallace and Michelle L. Morgan (now with the Eastern District of Pennsylvania) handled the third superseding indictment, the trial, and the sentencings of all defendants.  Others involved in the investigation and prosecution include Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin P. Pierce, Ruth Mandelbaum (now with the Eastern District of Pennsylvania), and Maureen McCartney (also now with the Eastern District of Pennsylvania), as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli H. Klein.

A copy of this press release can be located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.  Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 22-CR-17-CFC.