Wednesday, June 6 - Del. Man Pleads Guilty In O.C Drive-By Shooting

SNOW HILL- A Millsboro, Del. man facing attempted murder charges for a drive-by shooting in Ocean City in May 2006 pleaded guilty Wednesday morning in Worcester County Circuit Court to first-degree assault and now faces a maximum of 20 years in jail pending the outcome of a pre-sentence investigation.

Kyle Combs, 21, of Millsboro, was in Circuit Court on Wednesday facing attempted murder charges for shooting a man in the face at a red traffic signal on Baltimore Ave. in Ocean City on May 5, 2006. Combs, who was driving, reached passed the passenger in his vehicle and shot the victim in a vehicle next to him at the light in the face. The bullet exited the victim through the back of his neck and barely missed his spinal cord, according to testimony on Wednesday.

The shooting was apparently in retaliation of an attack on Combs two weeks earlier at the Wal-Mart in Salisbury by the victim and others believed to be in a gang in Wicomico County. Defense attorney William Clarke asked Judge Thomas C. Groton to consider the earlier attack on his client when it came to sentencing.

Worcester County State's Attorney Joel Todd struck a plea bargain with Clarke that included a guilty plea to first-degree assault in exchange for the other charges against Combs not being prosecuted. The binding plea agreement includes a maximum sentence for Combs of 20 years in jail with all but 10 suspended. First-degree assault carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in jail. See Friday's edition of The Dispatch for the complete story.