DOVER, Del. - Two men convicted in the 2020 murder of Shiheem Durham were sentenced this month to life in prison plus additional time, according to the Delaware Department of Justice.
Prosecutors say the case dates back to January 2020, when Khalil Dixon, now 29, of Dover put a bounty out on three people, including Durham. Investigators say Jason Calhum, now 24, and other affiliates of a gang known as MGS conspired to carry out the murder-for-hire plot.
On Feb. 25, 2020, authorities say the group traveled from Wilmington to Dover, where Calhum lured one of the bounty targets to a meeting under the guise of a drug deal. When the vehicle arrived, prosecutors say Calhum fired a single shot into it, missing the driver but hitting Durham, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.
The DOJ says Dixon later made several payments connected to the bounty.
Both men were convicted in May 2022, but the convictions were overturned in February of 2025 due to a juror issue, the DOJ says. A retrial was held and both Calhum and Dixon were again found guilty.
On March 18, Calhum was sentenced to life plus 14 years in prison for convictions including First Degree Murder, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, Conspiracy First Degree, Money Laundering, Gang Participation, and three counts of Conspiracy Second Degree.
Khalil Dixon, 29, of Dover, was sentenced on the same day to life plus eight years in prison for convictions including First Degree Murder, Conspiracy First Degree, Money Laundering, Conspiracy Second Degree, and Criminal Solicitation First Degree.
Attorney General Kathy Jennings called the sentencings the result of a team effort involving DOJ prosecutors, Wilmington Police, Middletown Police, and Delaware State Police.
“Delaware is a safer place because of it,” Jennings said.
Wilmington Police Chief Wilfredo Campos said the life sentences mark “the latest round of consequences for this extremely violent group of offenders,” while Delaware State Police Superintendent Col. William D. Crotty said the outcome reflects law enforcement’s shared commitment to public safety and justice for victims.
The state says the case against MGS began in September 2019 through a newly formed task force aimed at addressing gang violence in Wilmington. That task force included personnel from the Delaware Department of Justice, the U.S. Department of Justice, Wilmington Police, the ATF, and the FBI. Investigators say crime gun traces helped identify MGS as a major driver of violence in the city.