Contact: Beth Stone 508-584-8120
BROCKTON – The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today affirmed the first degree murder conviction of Derrick D. Waller for the 2009 murder of Delacey Hinton, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has announced.
On August 15, 2009, Brockton Police came upon a man with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest lying on the sidewalk in front of 684 Main Street in Brockton. The victim, who was later identified as Hinton, 24, was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined that the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the chest and the manner was ruled homicide.
Four days later, Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office sought and obtained an arrest warrant charging Waller with Murder and Possession of a Firearm without an FID card. In January, 2011, Waller, who had fled the Brockton area, was located in Indiana by State Police and placed under arrest.
In December, 2012, Waller was convicted of one count each of First Degree Murder and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm. He was sentenced to Life without the possibility of Parole.
At trial, the Commonwealth presented evidence that on August 15, 2009 at approximately 2 a.m., Waller drove to Hinton’s home, stopped his motor vehicle in front of the house and shot Hinton as he approached Waller’s vehicle.
The defendant’s appeal to the SJC focused on: the propriety of a key witness’s testimony, strategic decisions made by the defendant and his trial counsel, jury instructions, and the weight of the evidence presented at trial.
In its opinion, the SJC held, “The weight of the Commonwealth’s evidence amply supported the jury’s verdict, and that verdict was consonant with justice.”
The case was prosecuted by former Assistant District Attorneys Sharon Donatelle and Catherine Ham and was investigated by Massachusetts State Police Detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and Brockton Police. Assistant District Attorney Bridget Norton Middleton handled the case on appeal.