Two Arrested For Parking Lot Robberies

On October 9, 2019, at about 1751 hours, a male victim reported that he had been robbed in the parking lot of a business in the 1100 block of South College Avenue in Newark.  The victim reported that he went to the parking lot in order to meet a female that he met on a website.  When the victim arrived at the location, they got into his vehicle.  Once inside the vehicle, a male entered the backseat of the vehicle and held a knife to the victim’s throat and demanded his property.  The victim began to struggle with the male and suffered minor lacerations from the knife as a result.  After taking property from the victim, both the male and female suspect fled the scene in a pick-up truck that had been parked nearby.  Some property belonging to the victim was found discarded in the roadway a short distance from the scene.

Later that day, the victim’s debit card was found to have been used at various ATM machines as the suspects had forced the victim to provide his pin number.

On November 4, 2019, at 1941 hours, a male victim reported to Newark Police that he went to a parking lot of a business in the 1100 block of South College Avenue in Newark to meet a female that he met on a website.  As he walked through the parking lot, he was approached by a white female that threw gasoline onto him.  At the same time, a male suspect approached him and displayed a handgun and ordered the victim to give him his property.  The suspects took the property and fled in a pick-up truck.  Some of the victim’s property was found discarded a short distance from the scene.  The male victim was not injured.

Detectives contacted the female suspect through one of the websites used by the victims.  Detectives arranged a meeting with the suspect at a parking lot in Elkton, MD on November 8, 2019.  A male and female suspect arrived at the meeting location at the arranged time.  Both the male and female were taken into custody without incident by Newark Detectives and members of the Elkton, MD Police Department.  The male and female were were linked to these crimes based upon the nature of the offenses and evidence collected.

The suspects were identified as Newark residents Michael Welcher, 31, and Erin Cummings, 39.  They were both in custody in Cecil County, Maryland as fugitives from Delaware and were extradited to Delaware on November 13, 2019.

They have been charged with:

• Robbery First Degree (2 counts)
• Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony
• Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony
• Conspiracy Second Degree (2 counts)
• Offensive Touching
• Unlawful Use of a Payment Card (3 counts – Cummings only)

They appeared before Justice of the Peace Court #2 by video and Welcher was ordered to be held in default of $82,500 secured bail and Cummings was ordered to be held in default of $84,000 secured bail.  Welcher was turned over to the custody of the Howard R Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington.  Cummings was turned over to the custody of the Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution in New Castle.

This is still an ongoing investigation for which there may be additional victims. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Det. T. Gerasimov at (302) 366-7100 x. 3474 or tgerasimov@newark.de.us.  Additional methods for providing information to Newark Police can be found on our tips page, where reward information may also be available.