Maryland man arrested after Delaware police chase ends two-year burglary spree targeting restaurants

Maryland man arrested after delaware police chase ends two-year burglary spree targeting restaurants - photo licensed by shore news network.

WILMINGTON, DE – Delaware State Police announced the arrest of Keeno Exum, 42, of Elkton, Maryland, who investigators say is responsible for a nearly two-year string of burglaries that primarily targeted Asian and Hispanic restaurants across the state. The arrest followed a high-speed pursuit and a multi-agency raid on Exum’s Maryland apartment.

According to detectives, between January 2024 and December 2025, Exum was linked to at least 26 burglaries in which the suspect wore a black mask and similar clothing, often striking between 4:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Police said he used a prybar or heavy object to break into businesses, then ransacked cash registers and offices before escaping on foot.

Investigators connected Exum to multiple burglaries in New Castle County and nearby Middletown, discovering he had used several vehicles, including a Toyota Camry. On December 15, troopers spotted the Camry on Old Capitol Trail near Wilmington and attempted to stop it on Kirkwood Highway. Exum fled at high speed, and police ended the pursuit as it entered Pennsylvania. Detectives continued surveillance until the vehicle was tracked to an apartment on Clear Blossom Drive in Elkton.

With assistance from the Elkton Police Department, officers obtained a search warrant and executed it around 11 a.m. Exum attempted to flee by jumping from a second-story window but was quickly taken into custody. Inside the apartment, police found clothing and tools they say were used in the burglaries.

Exum was initially held at the Cecil County Detention Center in Maryland before being extradited to Delaware, where he was charged with 25 counts of third-degree burglary, 19 counts of wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony, 24 counts of possessing burglar tools, and numerous theft, criminal mischief, and traffic-related offenses.

He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 11 and committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on a $321,611 cash bond.

Delaware State Police credited the collaboration between multiple jurisdictions, including Middletown Police and the Elkton Police Department, for bringing an end to what they called one of the state’s most persistent commercial burglary patterns in recent years.

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