WILMINGTON, Del. - U.S. District Attorney for Delaware David C. Weiss has announced that 39-year-old William Bailey of Smyrna was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on November 16th for his role in an attempted home invasion in Dover.
According to court documents and statements from the sentencing, the attempted home invasion took place around midnight on May 10th, 2018. They say Bailey, along with separately charged defendant Tyler Deberry and an undisclosed man tried to break in to a Dover mobile home armed with a sawed-off rifle.
The documents say that the three men's goal was to rob the mobile home's owners of drugs and cash. They say the men went to the back door, but found it blocked from the inside by a washer/dryer. One of the men forced his head, shoulder, arm and rifle through the doorway, says the documents, while the people inside the home fought back and pushed against the door to force it closed.
Afterwards, according to the documents, several shots were fired from the rile before a victim was able take the rifle away from the intruders, who then ran away. The Department of Justice (DOJ) says the prosecutor noted that this was Bailey's second home invasion conviction, and that Deberry's sentencing is set for February 6th, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Weiss stated, “In the middle of the night, the defendant joined with others in an armed attempt to break into a home. Bailey and his confederates dangerous plan failed only because the door was blocked, and the occupants fought back. My office is committed to prosecuting violent crimes, even more so when those crimes are committed by recidivists.”
The DOJ says that the case was investigated by the Dover Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. They say the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edmond Falgowski and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Graham Robinson.