The New Castle County Division of Police has arrested a 22-year-old individual, Dymirr Ellerbe, following an investigation into a series of alarming armed carjackings.
The string of incidents began on Sunday, July 23, 2023, at 5:00 a.m. when Patrol Officers were dispatched to the 9000 block of Picasso Court in Newark, responding to a report of a carjacking that had just taken place. According to the victim, a black male suspect, later identified as Dymirr Ellerbe, brandishing a handgun, confronted him in the parking lot police said Friday. The victim was forced out of his vehicle, and the assailant demanded the surrender of his cell phone and wallet. The vehicle was subsequently discovered abandoned in an overflow parking lot.
The situation repeated itself on Sunday, July 30, 2023, at 5:25 a.m., when Patrol Officers were called to the 700 block of Sandburg Place in Newark for another carjacking incident. This time, two victims were targeted as they parked their vehicle. Police said a black male suspect armed with a handgun forced the victims out of their car and fled the scene in the stolen vehicle.
On Tuesday, August 1, 2023, Patrol Officers located the stolen vehicle from the second carjacking near the 600 block of Nanticoke Place in Newark. As officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the suspect fled at a high rate of speed. Officers chased after the suspects and later found the vehicle unoccupied in Bear.
Through investigation, police identified Dymirr Ellerbe as the suspect in these incidents officials said. On Thursday, August 10, 2023, the New Castle County Police located Ellerbe at a residence on the unit block of 2nd Avenue in New Castle. His apprehension was aided by the Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT). A subsequent search of the residence yielded the discovery of two firearms.
Dymirr Ellerbe is currently facing a range of serious charges stemming from his involvement in a series of armed carjackings, a subsequent vehicle pursuit, and his possession of firearms. These charges encompass an extensive list, including two felony counts of first-degree robbery, two felony counts of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony, four felony counts of firearm possession by a prohibited individual, three felony counts of aggravated menacing, one felony count of wearing a disguise while committing a felony, one felony count of receiving stolen property, one felony count of reckless endangering in the first degree, one felony count of disregarding a police officer’s signal, one felony count of third-degree burglary, and finally, one misdemeanor count of theft amounting to less than $1,500.00.
Following his arrest, Ellerbe was presented before the Justice of the Peace Court 2 for arraignment. Bail was set at a substantial $334,000.00 cash. Subsequently, he was remanded to the custody of the Howard R Young Correctional Institution.
At the time of the incidents, officials did not alert the public to the carjacking dangers that were occurring and did not issue press releases regarding either incident at the time.
