Delliouse Case Summary

Detective Mark Whatney arrested Defendant after finding cocaine in his Asheville, North Carolina home and the dead body of Donovan Delliouse in his trailer near that home. Defendant alleges that he has not been to his Asheville home in almost year, and he had a piano delivered to start taking piano lessons there. Furthermore, he claims he does not know Delliouse, he is unaware of any illegal activity at his Asheville home, and his trailer was used for storage. These events took place after Whatney received a call from Patricia, the ex-girlfriend of Defendant, on December 15, 2015 about Defendant’s drug activity. She wanted to help so she could possibly get her arson charges reduced, and she wanted justice for the Defendant’s past wrongs to her and her family. Earlier in the year, Defendant
During surveillance on that home, Whatney observed a group of men with the logo “Pianos Unlimited” on their shirts unloading a truck with that same logo. Whatney obtained a search warrant from the magistrate to search Defendant’s Asheville home and surrounding curtilage. Defendant was not at the home so Whatney forced the front door open and searched the premises. Ten thousand grams of cocaine were found in the basement. After searching around Defendant’s home, Whatney noticed a break in the trees where an unpaved trail was found that led to a trailer around thirty-five yards from the house. Whatney believed it was Defendant’s guest home and under the scope of the warrant. The inside was not visible through the windows, and the door was closed but not locked. He entered and found the body of Dellouise, who was part of the Delliouse crime family. A gun shot to the head killed him. After Defendant was arrested, Whatney determined from his GPS that Defendant’s trailer was technically on a separate piece of land owned by