New Castle – The Delaware State Police have arrested 33-year-old Manuel Morales of New Castle, in connection with a recent series of knifepoint robberies, according to Public Information Officer, Master Corporal Michael Austin.
Austin said on February 18th, Troopers investigated a robbery that took place at the Metro PCS store located at 210 New Castle Avenue, in which a male suspect brandishing a knife approached an employee at the sales counter and demanded cash. A similar incident occurred on March 10th, at this same Metro PCS store, with a third robbery occurring on March 11th, at the Dollar Tree located at 2201 Hessler Blvd. In each incident the suspect’s actions and physical description were similar.
Through a variety of investigative measures detectives developed Morales as a suspect and on Wednesday, March 13th, they located him at a bus stop in the area of New Castle Avenue and Memorial Drive, at which time he was taken into custody without incident, said Austin. A subsequent search of Morales and his belongings produced evidence further linking him to the robberies, Austin added.
Morales was transported to Troop 2 where he was charged with 2 counts of Robbery 1st Degree, 1 count of Attempted Robbery 1st Degree, 3 counts of Possession of a Deadly Weapon during the Commission of a Felony and 1 count of Wearing a Disguise during the Commission of a Felony. He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court #2 and then committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in lieu of $155,000.00 secured bail.