A Delaware County judge sentenced a 36-year-old Upper Darby man to 26 to 52 years in state prison for opening fire on his ex-girlfriend as she fled in a friend's car outside a neighborhood bar, after prosecutors said he had terrorized her for two decades. Michael Warren, who lived on the 7000 block of Clover Lane, was convicted by a jury of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, possession of a firearm by a person prohibited and carrying a firearm without a license, though he was acquitted of firing into an occupied structure.
The case stemmed from an altercation on August 23, 2025, outside the Waterford Inn, a neighborhood pub on the 6800 block of Ludlow Street in Upper Darby, according to the Delco Times. The pub sits at 6825 Ludlow Street, per SinglePlatform, in a commercial stretch of the township near the intersection with Heather Road. Surveillance footage showed the victim calling a friend for a ride from inside the bar, then leaving with bartenders as they locked up for the night, the paper reported.
As she stepped outside, Warren's sisters, Shanay Warren and Shanika Warren, attacked her, pulling her hair and punching her as other patrons tried to intervene. The victim told investigators the sisters ripped off her wig and kicked and punched her, knocking her cellphone from her hand, according to the same report. Michael Warren appeared to have a heavy object consistent with a firearm in his front right pocket during the attack, the Delco Times account states.
Shots Fired at Fleeing Vehicle
The victim ran across the street and jumped into a friend's vehicle, but Shanay and Shanika Warren allegedly continued punching her while preventing her from closing the doors. Michael Warren then fired at the fleeing vehicle, the station's report notes. Police, dispatched shortly before 2:30 a.m. for a report of a fight, recovered two 9mm fired cartridge casings in the middle of Ludlow Street near the Heather Road intersection and another casing on the sidewalk.
Investigators also found a wig and pieces of women's jewelry near the bar door, along with a bullet hole in the front window of a nearby apartment occupied by a couple and their child. The bullet had passed through the apartment's living room wall and landed on the kitchen floor, according to the report. The victim identified Michael Warren as her ex-boyfriend and the two women as his sisters.
No Serious Injury, Still a Felony Under State Law
Warren's defense attorney, Ben McCready, argued at sentencing that no one was injured by the gunfire. But under Pennsylvania law, an aggravated assault conviction does not require physical injury if prosecutors prove an attempt to cause serious bodily harm or conduct showing extreme indifference to human life, according to Margetas Legal. That statutory framework allowed the jury to convict Warren of aggravated assault despite the absence of a gunshot wound.
His firearm-related convictions carried their own weight. Possessing a firearm while legally prohibited is graded as a second-degree felony in Pennsylvania, carrying a maximum of 10 years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines per count, per Phil DiLucente & Associates. Separately, carrying a firearm without a license elevates from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years when the person is legally barred from obtaining a permit, according to the SKA Law Group.
Prosecutor Describes Twenty Years of Terror
Assistant District Attorney Kate Spillan, who handles violent assault and domestic abuse cases for Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer's office, told the court that Warren terrorized the victim for 20 years, according to the Delco Times. Spillan said Warren threatened to kill the victim if she left him and attempted to intimidate her and others not to testify. She also told the court that Warren repeatedly received lenient sentences for violent crimes beginning in his teenage years, and that his crimes escalated over time.
Spillan requested a total sentence of 30 to 60 years, pointing to inconsistencies in Warren's own account of his past. She said Warren gave different accounts in a forensic defense report and an earlier pre-sentence investigation, telling the court he had reported, in an earlier interview, having a happy childhood and close family ties. Spillan argued Warren was trying to demonstrate he could be rehabilitated despite prior evidence to the contrary, the paper reported.
Defense Cites Childhood Trauma, Recent Stroke
A forensic report found that Warren could benefit from education and training while incarcerated, according to McCready's presentation at sentencing. Warren's attorney also noted that his client grew up with abuse and drug use at home. The Delco Times reported that Warren suffered a stroke while in jail awaiting trial.
Warren apologized to the court for wasting its time and said he understood the seriousness of the charges against him. Common Pleas Court Judge Margaret Amoroso was unmoved by the mitigation arguments, saying Warren's criminal record and the short gap between his release for a prior shooting and this incident disturbed her. She said she had rarely seen a clearer escalation of violence paired with an inability to accept responsibility.
Judge Amoroso sentenced Warren to 26 to 52 years in state prison, with no eligibility for early release. He was also ordered to stay away from the victim, participate in anger management, and provide a DNA sample to state police. His sisters, Shanay Warren and Shanika Warren, had pleaded to simple assault charges in March, and were sentenced to time served to 23 months each, with orders to also stay away from the victim.
Local and Countywide Context
The department's 2025 Annual Report found that violent crime across the township, including shootings, robberies, and aggravated assaults, decreased that year under Police Superintendent Timothy M. Bernhardt.
Spillan's prosecution also reflects a broader county push against domestic violence. Delaware County Council worked with District Attorney Stollsteimer to form the Delaware County Domestic Violence Prevention Task Force. National statistics compiled by advocacy groups and cited by the county show that one in four women and one in seven men in the United States suffer severe physical violence from an intimate partner, underscoring the scale of the problem Warren's two-decade pattern represented.
