Four Juveniles Charged With Theft From Vehicles; Arrived in Stolen Vehicle

On May 6, 2020, at about 0413 hours, Newark Police responded to the unit block of Tantallon Court for a report of two suspects attempting to enter motor vehicles.  The suspects were reportedly observed pulling on handles of vehicles parked at two separate residences.

Arriving officers located a blue Honda Pilot in front of a residence in the area.  The caller reported that the suspects arrived in this vehicle.  Officers located two suspects in this vehicle and took them into custody without incident.

Additional officers checked the surrounding area for additional suspects.  Two additional suspects were located and taken into custody without incident a short distance away from the suspect vehicle.

An investigation at the scene determined that the suspect vehicle had been reported stolen to the New Castle County Police on May 5, 2020.  Additional investigation determined that vehicles in the Abbotsford neighborhood and on Rahway Drive had been entered.  The vehicles either had personal property removed or had simply been rummaged through with no property taken.  All vehicles involved were unlocked at the time and no damage was caused.  In total, the suspects are known to have pulled on the door handles of three vehicles that were locked, entered two vehicles and rummaged through them with no known property taken and entered two vehicles and removed personal property from within the vehicles.  There are believed to be additional victims that had not yet reported crimes to the police at the time of the arrest.

This incident demonstrates that simply locking your doors can easily prevent theft.  The Newark Police strongly encourage everyone to double check that your vehicle doors are locked before you go to sleep at night.

The suspects arrested in this incident include three male juveniles, ages 13, 14 and 15, from Wilmington.  In addition, a female juvenile, age 17, from Newport, was also arrested.

All of the suspects were transported to Newark Police headquarters where they were all charged with:

• Burglary Third Degree (2 counts)
• Attempted Burglary Third Degree (4 counts)
• Receiving Stolen Property Over $1,500
• Conspiracy Second Degree
• Theft Under $1500 ( 2 counts)
• Failure to Obey an Emergency Order (violation of the State of Emergency stay-at-home order)

The 13 year-old male was out on bail at the time for a prior felony arrest and had been court-ordered to remain in his home.  He was therefore charged with an additional count of Breach of Release of Conditions of Bond.

The 14 year-old male was out on bail at the time for a prior felony arrest and had a court-ordered curfew in effect.  He was therefore charged with an additional count of Breach of Release of Conditions of Bond.

The 15 year-old male was out on bail at the time for a prior felony arrest and had been court-ordered not to have contact with one of the other suspects or to leave his home.  He was therefore charged with two additional counts of Breach of Release of Conditions of Bond.

All of the defendants appeared before Justice of the Peace Court #11 by video.

The 13 year-old male was ordered to be held in default of $20,050 secured bail.  He was turned over to the custody of the Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services at the New Castle County Detention Center in Wilmington.

The 14 year-old male was ordered to be held in default of $25,000 cash bail.  He was turned over to the custody of the Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services at the New Castle County Detention Center in Wilmington.

The 15 year-old male was ordered to be held in default of $21,050 secured bail.  He was turned over to the custody of the Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services at the New Castle County Detention Center in Wilmington.

The 17 year-old female was released on $19,050 unsecured bail.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Cpl. A. Olicker at (302) 366-7100 x. 3425 or aolicker@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.

The Newark Police Department is a member of the Neighbors by Ring App.  This app allows the Newark Police to inform the community of real-time crime and safety events so the public can always stay informed.  The Neighbors by Ring App also allows the user to share information, including footage from the user’s camera system, directly with Newark Police. You do not need Ring devices to participate.  Anyone with any camera system can upload content to the Neighbors App.  Newark Police DO NOT receive access to the camera system and can only see video the user chooses to share.   To download the free app, text “staysafe” to 555888 or search for the app on the Apple App Store or Google Play.  Remember: if you see something – share something – and report it to the Newark Police at (302) 366-7111 or 9-1-1.  More information can be found here.