WILMINGTON, Del. — Delaware State Police have arrested Garrett Hitchens, a 34-year-old Wilmington resident, on charges of robbery and theft-related offenses following a string of shoplifting incidents spanning seven months in the Prices Corner area, according to authorities.
Hitchens is accused of stealing merchandise from several local businesses, including Acme, Bath & Body Works, Target, and Walgreens, between April 25 and October 25, 2024. In total, the thefts amounted to more than $5,600 worth of goods, police said. Each incident reportedly involved a similar pattern, with a white male suspect taking household items and fleeing without payment.
One of the shopliftings escalated to a robbery on August 17 at the Acme on Centerville Road, where Hitchens allegedly threatened an employee, saying he would kill them as he escaped with stolen goods. This threat led investigators to reclassify the incident as a robbery, raising the severity of the charges against him.
After identifying Hitchens as the suspect through investigative efforts, troopers obtained warrants for his arrest and attempted to locate him. On October 28, at approximately 7:32 p.m., a trooper on patrol in the Prices Corner area recognized Hitchens exiting the Acme grocery store. Familiar with Hitchens from previous cases, the trooper approached him in the parking lot and took him into custody without incident.
Following his arrest, Hitchens was transported to a local hospital for an unrelated medical condition, described as non-life-threatening. Once medically cleared, he was arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 11 on multiple charges, including robbery and 21 counts related to shoplifting.
Hitchens was subsequently committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution, where he is being held on a secured bond of $15,002.