Wilmington Police have arrested a man in connection to a 2021 fatal shooting incident following an investigation.
On October 17, 2021, at approximately 1:56 a.m., members of the Uniformed Services Division responded to the 1500 block of West 3rd Street in reference to a shooting incident. Upon arrival, police located a gunshot victim – 20-year-old Marquis Lopez Jr. – who was transported to the hospital in critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries.
The case was assigned to Detective Joseph Wicks of the Criminal Investigations Division. Through the course of his investigation, Detective Wicks identified 26-year-old Michael Bernier as a suspect. On December 19, 2022, the case was presented to the New Castle County Grand Jury and an indictment was returned for Bernier, who was in custody in Philadelphia on an unrelated matter. On December 17, 2024, members of the Criminal Investigations Division took Bernier into custody without incident.
Bernier has been charged with the following offenses:
- Murder (First Degree)
- Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony
He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 20 and was committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on $1,000,000 cash-only bail.
