[media-credit name=”Thomas E. Mitchell / DSP” align=”aligncenter” width=”480″]
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Greenwood – The Delaware State Police, with the assistance of the Bridgeville and Greenwood Police Departments, arrested a suspect in connection with a convenience store robbery that occurred last evening, according to Public Information Officer, Master Corporal Melissa Jaffe.
Jaffe said the incident occurred at approximately 7:37 p.m. on Monday, March 12, 2018 at Al’s Country Store located at 4937 Hickman Road, Greenwood. Upon arrival, Troopers made contact with a store employee who advised that a white male, dressed in all black clothing had entered the store with a handgun and demanded all of the money in the register, according to Jaffe. The victim complied with the suspects demands and turned over an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect fled the scene in a silver pickup truck with its tailgate down which prevented the victim from seeing the registration plate.
The victim described the suspect as a white male, wearing black pants, a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, a black leather jacket, a black ski mask, and gloves.
Shortly thereafter, a traffic stop on a silver pickup truck with the tailgate down was conducted by the Bridgeville Police Department and the Greenwood Police Department. The operator, identified as 37-year-old Thomas E. Mitchell of Greenwood matched the description provided by the victim, said Jaffe. Mitchell was subsequently taken into custody and a loaded .25 caliber firearm was found in the vehicle, according to Jaffe.
A subsequent search of Mitchell’s person yielded counterfeit currency and a review of his vehicle revealed that he applied tape to the vehicle’s registration plate and model description alongside of the truck, added Jaffe.
Mitchell was transported to Troop 4 where he was charged with Robbery 1st degree, Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony, Aggravated Menacing, Wearing a Disguise During the Commission of a Felony, Forgery 1st degree, and Failure to Display a License Plate. He was arraigned out of the Justice of the Peace Court 3 and committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution on $115,001.00 cash only bond.