NEW CASTLE, DE — Two Wilmington men are facing felony charges after state police said they disarmed an armed hotel security guard and stole his firearm during a robbery in June.
According to Delaware State Police, troopers responded at about 11 p.m. on June 13 to the Best Night Inn, located at 1200 West Ave., for a report of a robbery.
The preliminary investigation determined that two suspects approached an armed security guard employed by the hotel, allegedly physically restrained him and removed his firearm from its holster before fleeing in a sedan, police said.
Authorities reported that the security guard was not injured during the incident.
Through the investigation, troopers identified the suspected getaway vehicle as a Nissan Sentra and identified the suspects as Donald Shepherd, 19, and Sy Aire Wilson, 18, both of Wilmington, according to police. The Delaware State Police Criminal Investigations Unit subsequently assumed the investigation.
With assistance from the United States Marshals Service First State Fugitive Task Force, detectives located the Nissan Sentra in Brookhaven, Pennsylvania. Investigators later learned the suspects were staying at an apartment in the unit block of Fairway Road in Newark and obtained a search warrant for the residence, police said.
On June 30, members of the Delaware State Police Special Operations Response Team assisted detectives in executing the search warrant. Shepherd and Wilson were taken into custody without incident, according to authorities.
Shepherd was charged with second-degree robbery and second-degree conspiracy. Court records show he was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court and committed to the Department of Correction on an $18,000 cash bond.
Wilson was also charged with second-degree robbery and second-degree conspiracy. He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court and committed to the Department of Correction on a $24,000 cash bond.
All suspects, arrestees, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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