IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

IN AND FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY

STATE OF DELAWARE )

)

) 

v. ) I.D. 1212015998

) 

)

JOSHUA C. STEPHENSON, )

)

Defendant. )

ORDER 

1. This is a murder case in which Defendant is charged with 

shooting and killing Myron Ashley on Christmas Eve, 2012. The State 

contends the evidence will show that police were called to a home in

Wilmington where they found the victim. He had been shot twice in the 

head by a .45 caliber weapon and was later pronounced dead at 

Christiana Hospital. Two .45 caliber shell casings were found in the 

living room and a .45 caliber handgun was found on a loveseat. 

Defendant’s sister, who was the victim’s girlfriend, was upstairs when 

she heard gunshots. She rushed downstairs and asked Defendant what 

he had done. Defendant punched her in the face and fled. Defendant 

was arrested the following day. DNA analysis showed blood found on 

Defendant’s jacket to be that of the victim.

2. Defendant has filed a motion seeking to admit at trial evidence 

that the victim had been convicted in 2007 of possession of a firearm 
2

during the commission of a felony. Defendant does not show why this 

evidence is relevant. Indeed his entire motion reads as follows:

1. At Defendant’s specific request of June 14, 2014, the 

State supplied the criminal history of Myron Ashley 

which is not attached but may be provided;

2. Myron Ashley has a conviction for Possession of a 

Firearm During the Commission of a Felony in 2007. 

Mr. Ashley was on Level 4 home confinement for this 

conviction at the time of his death;

3. DNA evidence provided by the State indicates that 

Defendant and at least two other persons were DNA 

donors to the firearm used during the homicide in the 

instant case; and 

4. The State is seeking to enter evidence about 

Defendant’s prior ownership of a gun for which he has 

no conviction.

3. In the absence of any showing of relevancy, the court will deny 

Defendant’s motion. The court notes in passing that a victim’s prior 

conviction of a weapons offense may be admissible under certain 

circumstances to support Defendant’s claim of self defense. In Tice v. 

State1 the Supreme Court held that evidence of prior violent acts of the 

victim may be admissible to show self defense:

Since one of the factors that influences the 

reasonable belief of a defendant, threatened with 

imminent assault, is the defendant's knowledge 

or awareness of the victim's past acts of 

violence, these instances are relevant for their 

proper noncharacter purpose. Subject to the 

satisfaction of the requirements articulated in 

Getz [v. State2] the defense was entitled to use 

this evidence under [Delaware Rules of Evidence] 

404(b) to show the fear experienced by the 

defendant, and thus, establish the subjective

 1 624 A.2d 399 (Del. 1993). 2 538 A.2d 726 (Del. 1988). 
3

state of mind required to assert the claim of selfdefense.3

4. The court has some doubt whether the rule in Tice is broad 

enough to encompass the present case. Here the conviction was for 

possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and the 

underlying felony was possession with intent to distribute. Because the 

prior conviction did not involve an act of physical violence, the court has 

difficulty seeing how it would be probative of the claim the defendant 

acted in self defense. The court need not decide the issue, however. A 

necessary predicate to the admissibility of a victim’s prior conviction in a 

self defense case is that the defendant had actual knowledge of that 

conviction at the time he ostensibly acted in self defense.4 Defendant 

does not allege in his motion that he was aware of the victim’s prior 

conviction for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. 

Accordingly his motion is DENIED.

 

Dated: October 30, 2014 John A. Parkins, Jr.

Superior Court Judge

oc: Prothonotary

cc: John W. Downs, Esquire, Department of Justice, Wilmington, 

 Delaware

 Kathryn van Amerongen, Office of the Public Defender, Wilmington, 

 Delaware 

 3 Id. at 402. (emphasis in original). 4 Wright v. State, 25 A.3d 747, 754 (Del. 2011) (“[E]vidence of a victim's prior bad acts 

may be admissible to support a claim of self-defense where the defendant had actual 

knowledge of the victim's prior bad acts.”)