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Police believe drug deal gone wrong led to shooting of 17-year-old Dover HS student in York

YORK — New details have emerged in the investigation into shooting death of 17-year-old Emily Elizabeth Shoemaker on Dec. 12. The Dover Area High School s...
suspects in shooting death of Emily Shoemaker_graphic

YORK — New details have emerged in the investigation into shooting death of 17-year-old Emily Elizabeth Shoemaker on Dec. 12.

The Dover Area High School student was one of two persons shot in the incident, which occurred on the 400 block of West College Avenue. Police say a suspect fired several shots into Shoemaker’s vehicle, a 2017 Kia Soul, striking Shoemaker and a passenger who was sitting in the front seat.

Shoemaker’s vehicle sped off after the shooting, struck another vehicle, and crashed into a tree, injuring a third passenger who was sitting in the back seat.

Shoemaker later died at York Hospital, while the passenger in the front seat was injured by gunfire. The passenger in the back seat suffered a broken arm and was found at York Hospital after being transported there in a private vehicle, according to York City Police.

Daquan Maurice Dickerson, 18, of Red Lion, is one of three people facing charges in the case. He has been charged with criminal homicide, attempted criminal homicide, and conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, according to police.

His criminal complaint affidavit was unsealed Monday, shedding new light on the investigation.

Dickerson was allegedly driving the suspect vehicle, a gray sedan, that was involved in the shooting. He is also accused of firing through his vehicle’s passenger window into Shoemaker’s Kia, police say.

Also charged in the case is Sterling Edward Frantz, 20, of York, who is also charged with criminal homicide, attempted criminal homicide, and conspiracy to commit criminal homicide.

Frantz was arrested on Dec. 20. A warrant for Dickerson’s arrest was issued at the same time, and he was captured on Dec. 21.

A third suspect, Caylah Webb, 21, was also arrested on Dec. 21 on charges of hindering apprehension, obstruction, and tampering with evidence.

Webb, of Lancaster, owns the vehicle Dickerson and Frantz used in the shooting, police say.

Dickerson’s criminal complaint affidavit reveals the following details about the case, according to York City Police:

  • On Dec. 17, police received information that Frantz was involved in the case. He was brought to the York City Detective Bureau for an interview. After being read his Miranda rights, he agreed to speak to police about the incident.
  • Frantz told police that on Dec. 12, he was contacted by Shoemaker, who asked if he could supply her with a quarter ounce of marijuana.
  • Frantz agreed to supply the marijuana to Shoemaker. He said he was the middle man in the deal, and arranged to obtain the drugs from an acquaintance he identified as “Duce,” whom police later determined was Dickerson.
  • Frantz said he arranged to sell Shoemaker the marijuana for $120. He would then give “Duce” $100, and keep $20 for himself. He and Shoemaker arranged to meet outside his residence on the 400 block of N. Newberry Street to make the transaction.
  • Dickerson arrived at Frantz’s residence, driving a gray sedan with tinted windows. He parked in an alley behind Frantz’s apartment building.
  • After obtaining the marijuana from Dickerson, Franz said he walked to Shoemaker’s Kia, which was parked in front of the building. Frantz got inside the Kia, sitting in the front passenger seat.
  • Frantz said he gave Shoemaker the marijuana. As she was about to hand him the money, a black male sitting in the back seat of the vehicle grabbed him in a choke hold, while a second subject, whom Frantz described as a white male, grabbed his legs and pushed him in the vehicle.
  • Frantz said he was robbed of the marijuana, and broke free after a struggle and fled from the Kia. Shoemaker’s vehicle then sped off.
  • Police later determined through witness accounts that the victim who later suffered a broken arm was the person who put Frantz in a chokehold, and the victim who later suffered a gunshot injury was the one who grabbed Frantz’s legs.
  • After the Kia sped off, Frantz told police he went to “Duce” and told him he had been robbed. He said this made “Duce” very angry.
  • Frantz said he and “Duce” then drove off in the gray sedan, and spent about 30 minutes driving around looking for Shoemaker’s Kia.
  • Frantz later spotted the vehicle in the area of South Court and East Princess streets, where he pointed the vehicle out to “Duce.”
  • Frantz said he and “Duce” followed the Kia until Frantz could confirm it was Shoemaker’s vehicle. They followed the car onto West College Avenue, where “Duce” pulled into the opposing traffic lane, stopped beside the Kia, lowered the window, and began firing into it, Frantz said.
  • After the shooting, Frantz told police the Kia sped off westbound on College Avenue, while he and “Duce” drove south on Pershing Avenue.
  • “Duce” was later identified as Dickerson from a photo lineup.

Police say video surveillance footage taken from William Penn High School and St. Patrick Catholic Church on the 100 block of College Avenue showed the shooting. Investigators say they observed the gray sedan pulling beside the green Kia, and the driver of the gray sedan firing through the passenger window into the Kia.

The Kia then sped off, swerving to avoid traffic as it traveled west on College Avenue. The gray sedan accelerates and follows before turning onto Pershing Avenue, where it travels off-camera.

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