*Update – Suspect Arrested* State Police Investigating Armed Robbery at Wilmington Shopping Center
Date Posted: Friday, July 24th, 2026
The Delaware State Police arrested a 14-year-old male from Newark, Delaware, in connection with an armed robbery that occurred late June at a shopping center in Wilmington.
On June 29, 2026, at approximately 5:00 p.m., troopers responded to a shopping center in the 3100 block of Kirkwood Highway for a report of an armed robbery. The preliminary investigation revealed the victim was walking through the parking lot selling candy when an unknown suspect approached and demanded the victim’s property. When the victim initially refused, the suspect displayed a handgun. The victim then complied and the suspect fled the scene with the victim’s property. The victim was not injured during the incident.
The Delaware State Police Criminal Investigations Unit took over the case. Through investigative means, detectives identified the suspect as the 14-year-old and learned he lived at a hotel in the 1100 block of South College Avenue, in Newark. After a computer search, detectives determined the teenager was on probation following a felony adjudication from a 2025 stolen motor vehicle investigation.
On July 23, 2026, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service First State Fugitive Task Force, detectives responded to the hotel and took the teen into custody without incident. Detectives executed a search warrant on the room and recovered a loaded handgun as well as additional evidence linking the teenager to the robbery.
The suspect was taken to Troop 2 where he was charged with the below listed offenses, arraigned by the New Castle County Family Court, and committed to the Department of Services for Children, Youth, & Their Families on a $120,000 cash bond.
- Robbery First Degree (Felony)
- Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony (Felony)
- Possession of a Firearm or Ammunition by a Person Prohibited Adjudicated Delinquent (Felony)
- Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon (Felony)
Disclaimer: Any individual charged in this release is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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