BEAR, DE — Two men have been arrested in connection with two separate alleged armed robberies targeting individuals selling jewelry through an online marketplace in New Castle County.
The first incident occurred on Sunday, May 11, 2025, at approximately 10:30 p.m., in the 200 block of Silver Birch Lane in the Amberwood neighborhood of Bear. According to authorities, the victim entered a vehicle to complete the sale when a hidden second suspect allegedly emerged from the back seat, brandished a handgun, and demanded the victim’s jewelry and phone. The suspects then fled the scene in a red Tesla, police said.
The second robbery took place on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, around 10:10 a.m., in the unit block of Peter Hall at the Foxwood Apartments in Newark. Investigators allege a similar scenario unfolded, with the victim meeting a prospective buyer for the jewelry. During the interaction, a second suspect reportedly approached, displayed a handgun, and physically assaulted the victim before stealing the items.
Detectives linked the two cases and identified the suspects as 18-year-old Bruce Matthews and 21-year-old Jeremiah Whittaker.
Matthews was arrested on Thursday, May 29, 2025, while driving the red Tesla allegedly involved in the first robbery. Whittaker was apprehended on Thursday, June 12, 2025, by the New Castle County Police Department’s Fugitive Apprehension & Surveillance Team at a residence in Newark.
Both suspects were charged with two counts of possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony, two counts of second-degree conspiracy, one count of first-degree robbery, one count of first-degree attempted robbery, and one count of second-degree assault.
Matthews and Whittaker were each arraigned and committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution after failing to post cash bail of $107,000 and $208,000, respectively.
These allegations remain under investigation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Further developments in the cases have yet to be disclosed.
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