Man accused in Ventnor killing when he was a teen may go on trial next year

An Atlantic County man accused of fatally shooting a Ventnor grandfather when he was 16 years old must now decide whether he will take a plea deal or go to trial.

Angelo Delgado allegedly laid in wait for Sunil Edla on Nov. 15, 2018, and then shot the 61-year-old grandfather in the head before fleeing in the man’s car.

The next morning, the vehicle was found parked in Atlantic City, where Surveillance Center officers tracked the suspect to a home a block away.

Delgado was found with Edla’s wallet, cell phone and car keys, according to the evidence. Police also found a .22 caliber handgun in the home where he was staying.

In 2020, an appellate panel waived Delgado up to adult court, overturning then-Family Court Judge Susan Maven’s decision that he should face the charges as a juvenile.

Soon the now-20-year-old man will have to make an “adult decision” whether to plead guilty or face trial, Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury explained to him during a brief hearing Friday.

Neither the state nor the defense has offered any kind of deal to begin negotiations.

But Chief Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Robinson said the only discussion she would have with her office would be a plea to the top charge of murder and a term of 30 years without parole.

“At this point, I don’t have an offer to relay to the state,” said Raquel DeStefano, the latest in a string of defense attorneys to handle the case.

She told the judge she spoke with Delgado about the likely 30-year offer, which would include a parole hearing at the 20-year point.

The parole review is part of a new rule for juvenile offenders waived up to adult court, the judge later explained.

Delgado has long had a troubled history.

At the time of the killing, he had just been paroled from an 18-month sentence at the Training School for Boys and had fled a required program in Vineland.

He ended up in Ventnor with a gun and “an elaborate and sophisticated scheme to steal a car,” according to the appellate judges’ summary of the state’s case.

After his murder arrest, the problems continued.

In January 2019, he was transferred from the Harborfields Juvenile Detention Center in Egg Harbor City to the Training School for Boys, after being “disciplined on multiple occasions,” according to the appellate ruling.

Delgado was in custody at the Harborfields Youth Detention Center in Egg Harbor City on July 30, 2020, when he attacked a worker there, according to the affidavit obtained by BreakingAC.

He was indicted on a third-degree aggravated assault charge in that case.

Delgado is due back in court at the end of the month when the case could be put on the trial list.

If the case goes to trial, Robinson said she doesn’t plan to use “a very brief custodial statement” Delgado gave investigators, which didn’t incriminate him.

But she said she would likely try to have some statements he made during the course of his arrest, which would come through police testimony.

A hearing would likely be held before trial to determine whether that would be allowed.