Police arrest Millsboro man for vehicle theft
State police arrested Jonathan J. Edwards, 33, of Millsboro, in connection with a vehicle theft case that crossed county lines. Cpl. Wes Barnett, state police spokesman, said a 32-year-old woman reported a 1998 Toyota 4Runner was stolen from her Seaway Lane residence in Millsboro April 30.
The woman told troopers she had recently purchased the vehicle and had not yet registered it in her name.
The woman said she had left the keys in the ignition for a little more than an hour so she could charge her cell phone, because she did not have a home charger. She said she did not hear the car engine start or doors shut while she was in her Rehoboth Shores home.
Police entered the stolen vehicle’s information in the National Crime Information Center database, said Barnett, and at approximately 6 p.m., Friday, May 2, a police officer located the vehicle in the Value City parking lot on Kirkwood Highway in Wilmington. The vehicle had fictitious Pennsylvania tags on it.
Police took the driver - Edwards – into custody. He was charged with receiving stolen property and released on $500 unsecured bond, pending further court action.
Warrant issued to arrest Cape student
State police have a warrant to arrest a 16-year-old female student from Rehoboth Beach May 1, after a violent confrontation occurred in the cafeteria at Cape Henlopen High School. Cpl. Wes Barnett, state police spokesman, said police were summoned at noon, after the attempts of school personnel failed to get the student under control.
Barnett said the incident began when the student confronted a male student. Witnesses said she screamed obscenities at him, pushed him in what appeared to be an attempt to provoke him to fight and threatened to harm the student’s girlfriend.
Witnesses said the male student remained quiet during the verbal and physical assault, and a school custodian stepped between them to prevent the girl’s further attacks.
The girl refused to walk peacefully to the office with the custodian, so she was forcibly escorted, said Barnett. En route, she allegedly continued screaming obscenities and displaying her middle finger to those she passed along the way.
When she arrived in the office, said Barnett, she was given permission to call her mother to make arrangements for a ride home.
While she was on the phone, she allegedly screamed obscenities at her mother.
When the school attendance officer entered the office and heard the confrontation, she told the student to go to the principal’s office, where her call would be more private. Barnett said the girl then threatened to stab the attendance officer.
The girl will be charged with disorderly conduct, offensive touching and terroristic threatening; she was also suspended from school.
State police are investigating a burglary that occurred at Midway Par 3 golf course sometime during the night of April 28. Cpl. Wes Barnett, state police spokesman, said it was the second time recently in which money was stolen from the business. Barnett said when the owner of the business arrived at work the morning of April 29, the building was still secured, and there were no signs of any kind of forced entry.
However, some cash was missing from the register. Police are asking anyone with information to call Troop 7 at 644-5020.
Thief smashes window on parked vehicle
State police investigated a crime in which someone smashed the window of a parked car and removed an Alpine CD player faceplate sometime between the evening of April 27 and the morning of April 28.
The suspect also attempted to gain access to the trunk by damaging the locking mechanism on the back seat but was unsuccessful. Cpl. Wes Barnett, state police spokesman, said there were approximately 12 other vehicles parked at the Herring Branch Road residence in Lincoln, but no other vehicles were touched. The estimated damage and property loss was $400. Police are asking anyone with information to call Troop 7 at 644-5020.
Dewey accident results in DUI, other charges
Bryan Shupe, 24, of Milford, was charged with DUI, driving without insurance, leaving the scene of an accident and failing to report an accident after engaging in disorderly conduct and hitting two cars with his truck at the Atlantic Oceanside Motel. Following the incident, which was reported at 2:11 a.m., Saturday, May 3, Shupe left the scene to drive on Route 1, where he was apprehended. He was later released into his father’s custody.
OHS launches 2008 Summer HEAT campaign
Delaware Office of Highway Safety officials, along with state, county and municipal law enforcement officials, announced they are turning up the heat on traffic violators in Delaware this summer.
The high-visibility traffic-safety initiative aimed at reducing traffic deaths and injuries in the state is called the 120 Days of Summer HEAT (Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic). The umbrella traffic initiative unifies Delaware’s three primary safety campaigns conducted during the summer months: Click It or Ticket, Checkpoint Strikeforce and Stop Aggressive Driving.
The launch of this summer safety initiative is particularly important given the recent rash of fatal crashes in the state. In the last two and a half weeks, there have been eight fatal crashes, four of them resulting in multiple fatalities. Fourteen people lost their lives in those crashes.
“It’s a very disturbing trend, and as we head into summer the roads will be crowded with both residents and out-of-state visitors,” said Tricia Roberts, director of the Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS). “We need the public to understand that we’re taking a zero-tolerance approach to traffic violations with the end goal of saving lives.”
OHS will begin by turning up the heat on unbelted motorists beginning Sunday, May 11, with the kickoff of the 2008 Click It or Ticket campaign. The heat will begin on impaired drivers July 4, as Checkpoint Strikeforce moves into its seventh year, and aggressive drivers will feel the heat two short weeks later when the Stop Aggressive Driving campaign resumes with a new focus on stopping speeding drivers - the second leading cause of traffic deaths in Delaware.
While officers will focus on a particular traffic safety violation during each campaign, they will continue to address any other traffic violations as they occur.
Since Jan. 1, there has been a 19 percent decrease in people killed in traffic crashes in Delaware from this time in 2007.
For details, visit www.ohs.delaware.gov.
