Delaware State Police

Superintendent Colonel William Crotty

Update- Suspect Arrested Detectives Investigating Kirkwood Highway Smoke Shop Armed Robbery

Date Posted: Saturday, December 16th, 2023

Delaware State Police arrested 37-year-old Robert Burns of Milford, Delaware, in connection with an armed robbery that occurred on Tuesday evening.

At approximately 7:55 p.m. on December 12, 2023, troopers responded to a report of an armed robbery at Apollo Smoke Shop, located at 3613 Kirkwood Highway in Wilmington. A preliminary investigation revealed an unidentified white male suspect, later identified as Robert Burns, approached an employee in the store. Brandishing a handgun from his waistband, Burns demanded the employee empty the cash register. After the victim complied and turned over an undisclosed amount of money, Burns fled on foot.

On December 15, 2023, the Delaware State Police Troop 2 Criminal Investigations Unit learned of Burns’ whereabouts and apprehended him in the parking lot of the Kent County Courthouse in Dover. Burns was transported to Troop 2, where he was charged with the offenses listed below, arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 2, and committed to Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on a $120,000 cash bond.