Man is sentenced to life — plus 20 to 40 years — for killing Dover student Emily Shoemaker
DaiQuan Dickerson, 20, of Red Lion, maintained that he is innocent of charges including first-degree murder and vowed to appeal.
Dylan SegelbaumMoments after Common Pleas Judge Gregory M. Snyder finished sentencing DaiQuan Dickerson for shooting and killing Emily Shoemaker, a senior at Dover Area High School, the judge reflected about how she lost her life “over a couple of bucks.”
“For that senseless crime, this defendant is going to be spending the rest of his life in prison,” Snyder said.
“It is a severe penalty but not unwarranted — and, certainly, may be some but not complete solace to those who loved and cared for this young woman,” he added. “Nonetheless, we believe that justice has certainly been served.”
That’s when a man sitting behind Dickerson stood up and commented, “Yeah, it would’ve been served if you got the right guy.” Deputy sheriffs then asked him to leave the courtroom.
Previous coverage:Man found guilty of first-degree murder for shooting and killing Dover Area High School student Emily Shoemaker
Dickerson, 20, of Red Lion, was sentenced on Friday on charges of first-degree murder, criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder, carrying a firearm without a license and related crimes to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole — plus 20 to 40 years. He maintains his innocence.
“I’m going to continue to fight on appeal,” he said. “I didn’t do it.”
Read:Remembering Emily Shoemaker, Dover Area High School senior killed in shooting
On Dec. 12, 2019, Shoemaker reached out to Dickerson’s middleman, Sterling Frantz, over Snapchat to buy a half-ounce of marijuana for $100 or $120.
But Shoemaker and her two friends — Tyrese Dugan and Fuhrman Dennis — robbed Frantz outside his apartment on North Newberry Street across from Farquhar Park in York.
Frantz testified that he told Dickerson what happened. He later asked, “Hey, do you want to go for a drive and smoke?"
Dickerson, he said, got into a gray 2016 Nissan Altima that belonged to his girlfriend, Caylah Webb, and later spotted Shoemaker’s lime green 2007 Kia Soul.
Next, Dickerson drove into the opposite lane, pulled out a 9mm handgun and fired out the front-passenger window into the SUV near the intersection of South Beaver Street and West College Avenue in York, Frantz testified.
Shoemaker crashed into a tree on West College Avenue near Cookes House Lane in York and was pronounced dead of multiple gunshot wounds at York Hospital. She was 17.
Meanwhile, Dickerson testified that Frantz fired the shots and then stated, “Go, go, go. They’re shooting.”
Farley Holt, Dickerson’s attorney, did not present any testimony. His client unsuccessfully asked to delay the court proceedings to hire new counsel.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Kara Bowser pushed for a consecutive sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison, noting that Dugan was also shot.
Dickerson, she said, opened fire in front of William Penn Senior High School during the day when there were students and other people in the area.
Bowser then read statements on behalf of Shoemaker’s mother, Chrissy, and father, Steve.
They described their daughter as sweet, smart, loveable and beautiful. She loved modeling and playing sports, her parents said, and aspired to become a nurse.
Though he is angry, Steve Shoemaker said, he has decided to forgive Dickerson to have peace.
“I only hope he will look in the mirror and ask himself, ‘Was it worth it to take the life of my daughter, Emily?” Steve Shoemaker said. “He will have a lifetime in prison to think about it.”
Also of interest:Man pleads guilty to assault in shooting of Dover Area High School student Emily Shoemaker
As Dickerson walked back into the holding cell, he turned to his supporters in the gallery of the courtroom and told them, “Keep fighting this [expletive].”
Dylan Segelbaum is the courthouse reporter at the York Daily Record, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Contact him at dsegelbaum@ydr.com, by phone at 717-916-3981 or on Twitter @dylan_segelbaum.
Co-defendant in murder of Emily Shoemaker awaiting sentencing
Sterling Frantz, 23, of York, is awaiting sentencing on a charge of aggravated assault for starting a chain of events that led to the death of Emily Shoemaker, a senior at Dover Area High School, on Dec. 12, 2019.
Frantz faces a maximum sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison.
He testified for the prosecution against the shooter, DaiQuan Dickerson, 20, of York, who was found guilty in March of first-degree murder and related crimes and later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole — plus 20 to 40 years.