A man has been convicted in the murder of a teen boy that sparked a years-long gang war in Wilmington, Delaware, despite the victim not being gang affiliated.
Oliver "Butter" Henry, 25, pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder and faces a minimum of 15 years in prison for the January 2015 death of 16-year-old Jordan Ellerbe.
Henry was arrested and charged in Ellerbe's murder in January 2023, eight years after the teen's death.
The murder of Jordan Ellerbe
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In January 2015, Ellerbe was on the porch of a home on Broom Street in Wilmington’s Hilltop neighborhood when Henry pulled out a gun and opened fire, shooting the teen in the head. Two teens who were with Ellerbe at the time were also shot but survived. Henry was also charged with attempted murder in connection to those shootings.
While Ellerbe was not involved in a gang, his murder led to a feud between the rival gangs “Shoot to Kill” and “Only My Brothers” that escalated rapidly over the years.
Investigators said Ellerbe’s name was often cited in the back and forth violence between the gangs.
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“This murder fueled unacceptable levels of gun violence in and around Wilmington, and it also left behind a family that has been waiting for answers, and justice,” Wilmington Police Chief Wilfredo Campos said.
Gang war in Delaware
The cycle of gun violence and retaliation led to several shootings and murders in Delaware, including the killing of 15-year-old Brandon Wingo in broad daylight in 2016.
“Jordan was only 16, and somehow he still wasn’t the youngest victim of this bloodshed,” Attorney General Kathy Jennings said at the time of Henry's arrest. “We live in the most prosperous country on Earth, and we have kids arming themselves and going to war with each other. It’s senseless. It’s wrong. And the ease with which it escalated and claimed young lives is the heavy toll we pay so that guns can live in our communities with our kids.”
Henry’s arrest was the culmination of a lengthy investigation by Wilmington Police and the Department of Justice.
Ellerbe’s family members were there when officials announced Henry's arrest.
“My heart is with Jordan’s mother today, and with all the families that live each day with the trauma and loss that guns create,” Jennings said at the time. “No parent should have to worry about whether their child will make it home, but millions still do.”
Henry was indicted in January 2023 for Ellerbe's murder and pleaded guilty to 2nd degree murder on March 6, 2024. While he faces a 15-year minimum mandatory sentence, the State will recommend up to 20 years in prison.
"Enforcement efforts from Delaware police and the DOJ have yielded significant results in recent years: since 2020, shootings have declined by 20% statewide, while violent crime in the state reached historic lows in 2022," a Delaware Department of Justice spokesperson wrote. "Still, gun violence remains a serious issue — particularly for children, whose leading cause of death in the United States is guns."
