One Moment In Time

The Year Was 2015

The event was horrific, and it changed my life, the life of my family, and the way the Delaware State Police did things, and Kent County, Delaware would never forget the night of March 27, 2015.

One Horrific Moment

Yes, one horrific moment, that would change Kent County Delaware forever. One life changing moment that would change my life forever, and end a life, and changed how an entire community looked at law enforcement, crime, and a civilian's right to persue justice.

It was March 27th -2015 @ 11:20pm

Gunshots rang out at a development in Magnolia Delaware. There were fifteen gunshots all together. It was loud, and it was heard in the surrounding areas as well. A neighbor who was next to the driveway, where gunshots rang out, called the police. It would change the course of this man's life as well as the women he lived with. She had 911 on the line, and the gentlemen went over to the car, that was peppered with bullets to see if the man inside was still alive. Upon finding no pulse, he decided there was nothing he could do for the young man sitting inside, bleeding profusely, so he returned to his home. In one awful moment, fifteen bullets fired from a gunman changed multiple lives, ended one life and changed the lives of the community in which it happened, and the entire county in Delaware.

The First Policeman On The Scene

I spoke to this officer, a year after the slaying of my son, for I called the troop, because I was actively looking for the killer. I was hanging flyers, talking to and interviewing people and was active on social media persueing every avenue and leaving no stone unturned.

This officer told me that he had never seen a murder so brutal and he actually became sick and they had to remove him from the scene. That day I became aware of just what one moment in time could cost a family, law enforcement and the community itself.

One Awful Moment - Changed So Many Lives

One moment in time, that it took a gunman to unload 15 bullets from a 9mm hand gun, changed so many lives. It took my very best friend in this world's life.

It changed the life of the man who tried to render aid, because of that moment in time when he tried to render aid Mr. Wilkerson acted on instinct, but then when I wanted to thank him for caring enough to even check to see if my son was alive, he found he had to act upon fear of the criminals and he moved from that park.

That awful moment changed the life of the police officer that responded to the scene of that accident, for he told me on the phone he would never forget the gruesome sight.

That awful moment also changed the lives of the people living in Meadow Brook acres aka The Park of Death, for they had to live with the fact that I would be visiting that park for the next 2 years and 8 months, investigating the murder of my son.

That awful moment also changed the lives of the gunman's family, who tried to hide him from prosecution for the brutal murder he committed.

And finally it changed the life of the gunman - the murderer of my son himself. He found I would go to any length to find justice, and he would himself be running be from one state to the next, trying to escape the fate of what he had done. Everywhere he turned he found I was there, or I had been there looking for him.

He knew I was looking for him, and he became a fugative in every sense of the word, so he changed his own life, the most of anyone living. My son paid the biggest price for the killers actions, by having no life left at all.

What That Awful Moment Changed

It certainly did change my life, my family said I will never be the same. Perhaps I will find peace beyond the world, but I haven't yet.

It changed my son's life by taking it, he is not longer among the living, and he didn't deserve to die, no less in the manner he did, so brutal and violently. He was so kind to everyone he met, and he didn't deserve to be taken out of this world so violently.

It changed the life of the killer, Anthony McDonald who felt he could no longer run. They found his body, washed up on shore of Silver Lake in Dover Delaware. The US Marshalls final report said that Anthony McDonald took an over dose of drugs and fell into the lake.

It also changed the lifes of the killers crime family, in so much as law enforcement had to act, and they did with a sting, called, "Operation Spiritus", where they arrested several members of McDonald's family, and his half brother dabbed the ring leader of the operation, spent six. years in prison for his role in the crime ring. It doesn't bring back my son, but perhaps it will prevent someone else's child from meeting the same fate.

It changed the life of everyone in Kent County Delaware, the community in which Richard lived and worked and went to school for so many years. In my search for justice, I wrote a letter to the Federal Senator of the State of Delaware. I requested a grant to fight "Violent Crime" in Kent County Delaware. Through my efforts, a grant was given to the Delaware State Police, and the Dover City Police in 2015, to fight violent crime. Subsequently, a similar grant has been given every year since, to Police Departments, large and small throughout the State of Delaware. The Governor was made aware of the brutal murder of Richard L. Jacobs Jr, and our family tragedy, and that his senior citizen mother was out on the streets looking for justice.

One Moment In Time- 12 Bullets Entered Someone's Body And Took Their Life.

That moment led to a manhunt spearheaded my one 64 year old mother, that lasted two years and eight months, and spread from coast to coast and different countries. I had two facebook pages with 5,000 followers each, that showed me that people had a heart and people wanted to help.

I tracked him from Delaware to Philadelphia to Georgia and Arizona, and I worked with several law enforcement agencies, including the Delaware State Police, The FBI, and the US Marshals.

I had hundreds of instant messages, that read, I downloaded his photo, I travel for a living, what kind of car does he drive?

This Could Have Happened To Anyone - In Any Place, But It Happened to Me, and it happened in Kent County Delaware.

Although, the Grant did not carry Richard's name, perhaps it should have. But it does show you one thing.

One Person- One Moment In Time- Can Change So Many Lives As Well As An Entire Community.................