Delaware State Police

Superintendent Colonel Melissa Zebley

State Police Arrest Man for Organized Retail Theft of Cigarettes from New Castle County Area Wawa Locations

Date Posted: Sunday, May 19th, 2024

Robert Wheeler

Delaware State Police arrested 47-year-old Robert Wheeler of Wilmington, Delaware, for organized retail theft following a series of shopliftings of cigarettes from multiple Wawa locations in New Castle County that occurred in April and May of this year.

On May 15, 2024, at approximately 2:10 a.m., troopers responded to the Wawa located at 2754 Pulaski Highway, Newark, for a report of a shoplifting. Upon arriving, troopers learned a masked black male suspect jumped behind the sales counter, grabbed cigarettes from the display, and then ran out of the business without rendering payment. Wawa employees recognized the suspect’s actions to be similar to that of a habitual shoplifter who is known to shoplift from multiple Wawa locations in one day. Over the next two hours, two additional Wawa locations in New Castle County reported a suspect with the same description trespassing on their properties. The suspect was reported to have fled from the two locations in a red SUV with damage to the passenger side. On May 15, 2024, at approximately 4:16 a.m., a trooper on patrol observed the suspect’s vehicle traveling in the area of the Wawa located at 2030 Limestone Road, Wilmington, and conducted a traffic stop on the burgundy Chevrolet Tahoe. Troopers made contact with the driver, who initially provided troopers with a false identity. However, troopers quickly recognized the driver as Robert Wheeler from previous investigations and he was taken into custody without incident. A subsequent search of his person led to the discovery of 4 packs of Newport cigarettes.

Wheeler was taken to Troop 2, where troopers identified him as the suspect responsible for 17 shopliftings from multiple Wawa locations throughout New Castle County that occurred between April 9, 2024, and May 15, 2024, and totaled over $5,600 worth of stolen cigarettes. A computer inquiry revealed Wheeler has an active No Contact Order with all Wawa properties in Delaware that was issued by the New Castle County Court of Common Pleas. Wheeler was charged with the crimes listed below, arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 2, and committed to Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on a $2,000 secured bond.