Thefts Involving Older Residents; Victim Confronts Suspect Upon His Return

On June 30, 2020, at about 1700 hours, a male suspect knocked on the door of the victim’s residence on Independence Circle.  The suspect was unknown to the victim.  The male victim, who is over 65 years old, answered the door.  The suspect asked to use the bathroom of the victim’s residence.  After using the bathroom, the suspect asked for an item which caused the victim to go into another room.  When the victim returned, the suspect was gone and the victim found that his wallet was missing.

On July 2, 2020, at about 1800 hours, a male resident of Independence Circle, who is over 90 years old, allowed a male suspect, who was unknown to the resident, to enter his residence to get something to eat.  When the resident went into another room and returned, he found that the unknown male had left the residence.  The victim then found that his wallet was missing from his residence.  The wallet was later recovered after it had been discarded a short distance away from the residence.

On July 8, 2020, at about 2030 hours, the suspect returned to the first victim’s residence and sat on the victim’s porch.  Recognizing the suspect from the prior week, the victim proceeded to speak with the suspect and then invited him into the residence.  Once inside the residence, the victim struck the suspect multiple times with a metal pipe, before the suspect fled the residence on foot.

The suspect in these incidents is described as a black male, 5’9″, 32-38 years of age, 3 teeth on the top of his mouth and wearing a t-shirt and black shorts.

Images of the suspect were captured by various video sources.

Anyone with information about the identity of the suspect in these incidents is asked to contact PO Santos at (302) 366-7100 x. 3144 or jsantos@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.