Man kicked by Dover cop to go to trial on gun charges

The man who drew nationwide attention when Dover police released footage of an officer kicking him in the head could face life in prison if he is convicted of unrelated firearm charges at a trial next week.

Lateef A. Dickerson, 30, refused a plea deal Monday and will instead fight allegations he was storing firearms stolen during a Maryland burglary in a shed in Middletown, according to the Department of Justice.

A confidential informant told a probation officer about the firearms. Middletown police searched the shed on an abandoned property in the 200 block of Fields Terrace in Middletown in June 2014 and found a loaded shotgun and rifle, DOJ Spokesman Carl Kanefsky said.

Dickerson was charged with two counts each of possession of a firearm/ammunition by a person prohibited and receiving a stolen firearm; and one count of second-degree conspiracy.

The twice-convicted felon turned down a plea deal Monday that would have resulted in at least 10 years in prison for the person-prohibited charges and the possibility of additional time for some of the other charges, Kanefsky said.

Dickerson is now expected to go to trial Tuesday morning in Superior Court in Wilmington.

If found guilty of the firearm-related charges, Dickerson could face 30 years to life in prison as a habitual offender.

In an unrelated incident on Aug. 24, 2013, Dover police responded to a Hess gas station – later renamed the Speedway Service Station – to investigate a report of a fight in progress with one person possibly armed.

Dover Police Cpl. Thomas Webster IV and another officer had Dickerson, who matched the description of the man involved in the fight, at gunpoint.

Dickerson was getting on the ground when Webster kicked him in the head, breaking his jaw and leaving him unconscious.

The incident was recorded on a dashboard camera in a police car. The footage was released Thursday.

A grand jury in March 2014 declined to indict Webster. However, a second grand jury on May 4 indicted him for second-degree assault.

He is currently suspended without pay pending the outcome of the case.

Dickerson was charged with assault, theft and resisting arrest, but the charges were later dropped.

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing Dover on behalf of Dickerson.

Contact Jessica Masulli Reyes at 302-324-2777, jmreyes@delawareonline.com or Twitter @JessicaMasulli.