NEWARK, DE – Delaware State Police apprehended David Cardarelli, 45, and Michael Cona, 44, both from Florida, on charges related to drugs and firearms. The arrests occurred following a routine traffic stop in Newark on Friday morning.
On December 22, at around 11:45 a.m., officers from the New Castle County Governor’s Task Force, while patrolling near the Biden Welcome Center on John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway, noticed suspicious activity in a gold Buick Lucerne with Florida plates. The driver, later identified as Cardarelli, was seen snorting an unidentified substance. Detectives stopped the vehicle to check on the occupants, which included Cardarelli and Cona as the front passenger.
During the interaction, officers spotted a loaded handgun magazine in plain sight, leading to the immediate detention of both men. Further inspection revealed a handgun handle between the driver’s seat and center console. A detailed search of the car yielded a loaded handgun, additional magazines, ammunition, a spoon with a substance confirmed as heroin, and a needle syringe with a purple liquid, also suspected to be heroin.
Following their arrest, Cardarelli and Cona were transported to Troop 2 and charged with various offenses related to the possession of drugs and firearms.