Delmar, DE – The Delmar police officer brutally attacked on Sunday has been pronounced clinically deceased and his family says his organs will be donated.
The Delaware State Police have arrested 30-year-old Randon D. Wilkerson in connection with the deadly attack that occurred in Yorkshire Estates.
Around 5:00 am on Sunday, Delmar Police Department was called to the 11000 block of Buckingham Drive in the Yorkshire Estates Community for a report of a fight in progress. The 9-1-1 caller reported that a man, who was later identified as Wilkerson, was fighting with other residents of the house, and destroying items inside the home. Moments later, a separate 9-1-1 call was received from a neighbor across the street from the original caller, stating he and his wife had been attacked by the same man. The caller then said the suspect fled his house.
Corporal Keith Heacook responded to the house of the initial call and was immediately assaulted by Wilkerson inside the home.
The dispatchers began checking on Cpl. Heacook and received no response. Additional officers were dispatched and a Wicomico County Sheriffs Office Deputy and a Delaware State Trooper arrived on scene to find Cpl. Heacook unconscious inside. Officers from Laurel Police Department arrived on scene, and upon pulling Cpl. Heacook from the house, began First Aid until Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived.
The investigation into the separate, but related assault, which involved an elderly couple across the street revealed, Wilkerson knocked on the back door of the home and was met by the 73-year-old victim. The victim was then assaulted as Wilkerson entered the house and then struck numerous times with a glass object. Wilkerson then repeatedly assaulted a 76-year-old woman with the same object before fleeing the house. Both of those victims sustained significant injury and were transported by ambulance to area hospitals. The female victim was later transported to Shock Trauma in Baltimore.
Wilkerson was observed by police on the rear of the property of the first 9-1-1 call and was taken into custody.
Cpl. Heacook was transported to TidalHeath in Salisbury and then given a police escort to Shock Trauma in Baltimore with significant head injuries. He was pronounced “clinically deceased” on Wednesday.
Wilkerson’s charges have been upgraded to murder.
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings issued this statement: These are the worst moments any of us can imagine: mourning the loss of a member of our law enforcement family. Cpl. Keith Heacook served his Department and his community honorably and faithfully for more than two decades – a family man, a public servant, and a protector of his community until his final days.
The man who stole him from his family and from his community has been arrested, and mark my words: he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It is with nothing but sadness that I commit, now that Cpl. Heacook is no longer with us, that his killer’s charges will be upgraded to include murder. He will be held accountable for his heinous crimes against Cpl. Heacook, against the elderly couple he viciously assaulted, and against Delmar and our state. The DOJ has been working together with Delmar and Delaware State Police, and all are doing everything in our power to ensure a successful prosecution.
But tonight is about more than the senseless evil that stole Keith Heacook. Tonight we remember a father and a husband; a veteran of Delmar’s police force; and a brother in Delaware’s law enforcement family. Tonight we mourn the loss of a man who devoted his life to serving others. Tonight we acknowledge law enforcement across the state, who willingly face danger each day so the rest of us don’t have to.
Tonight we wrap our arms around a community and a family and hold them in support and prayer; tomorrow, with clear eyes, we move forward in the pursuit of justice.
“Cpl. Keith Heacook is a 22-year veteran and has been employed with our department since 1998,” Delmar Police Chief Ivan Barkley said in a statement. “He is a husband, son, brother and father. Keith is fighting for his life right now and he needs your prayers along with the elderly couple who were also injured. Members from the Delmar Police appreciate the outpouring of community support as we continue to move forward. We appreciate the support from the Delaware State Police, Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police and all other agencies who responded and are assisting with this investigation.”
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