GEORGETOWN, DE - The man accused of killing Delmar Corporal Keith Heacook in April 2021 is due in court Monday morning. Randon Wilkerson's trial is set to begin at 9 a.m. in Sussex County Superior Court in Georgetown.
Wilkerson's trial was originally scheduled to begin Nov. 28, 2022, but legal teams have filed for continuances several times.
The trial for Delmar Corporal Keith Heacook's murder will take place Oct. 16 in a Sussex County courtroom. We revisit the investigation on what happened the morning of April 25, 2021, when the officer was attacked.
In late September, Wilkerson's attorney filed for a bench trial, meaning a judge will evaluate the presented evidence and determine whether he is guilty or not as opposed to Wilkerson facing a jury. Though the trial was originally expected to go on for weeks, a spokesperson for the courts has predicted that it will likely be shorter now, possibly lasting just a day or two.
Wilkerson is charged with first degree murder, assault, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, and possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited. If convicted of first-degree murder, he faces a life sentence.
Though he was first committed to Sussex Correctional Institution, Wilkerson was transferred and has been held at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna.
As the murder trial of the man accused of killing Delmar police officer Cpl. Keith Heacook rapidly approaches, the impact of Heacook’s shocking death remains tangible across Delmarva more than two years later.
Online court records show that Wilkerson has a criminal history in Maryland. In November of 2015, he pleaded guilty for a theft misdemeanor in the District Court for Anne Arundel County. In 2018 he was charged a second time for theft and was served a warrant for failing to appear in court. In that case, documents show he posted bond and failed to appear a second time, as well. Wilkerson was also charged in the District Court for Wicomico County in 2020 with fourth degree burglary, which consists of breaking and entering. Similarly, documents show he failed to appear.
The trial on Monday in Georgetown is regarding the murder of Delmar Corporal Keith Heacook. In April 2021, Heacook responded to a 911 call regarding a disorderly subject, later identified as Wilkerson. Dispatchers lost contact with Heacook and called for additional officers, who found Heacook unconscious with severe head injuries. He was transported to shock trauma in Baltimore and was taken off of life support a few days later.
