A 17-year-old walking along Salisbury Drive in Edgemoor Gardens was stopped for a simple pedestrian violation this week — and ended up facing nine charges after detectives say they found a loaded 9mm handgun with an extended magazine and roughly 80 grams of marijuana stuffed in his backpack. The teen failed to post $86,002 cash bail and was committed to a juvenile detention center following his arraignment.
According to New Castle County Police, detectives assigned to the Active Crime Trends Team were conducting proactive patrols in Edgemoor Gardens when they stopped the teen for walking on a roadway where a sidewalk was available and for failing to carry a light on a public roadway. That stop led detectives to search his backpack, where they say they recovered the loaded handgun and marijuana. He was taken into custody and transported to New Castle County police headquarters before being arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 11.
The Active Crime Trends Team operates as a specialized unit within the county’s Criminal Investigation Unit, tasked with proactive patrols and targeted interdictions in designated high-crime corridors, according to the New Castle County Division of Police. Edgemoor Gardens has been a recurring focus for that work — in September 2025, ACTT detectives made an arrest on the same street, East Salisbury Drive, after a suspect pointed a firearm at residents during a dispute, per New Castle County Police Department News.
A Long List of Felony Charges
The teen faces two felony counts of possession of a firearm by a person prohibited, stemming from what police describe as previous felony convictions that barred him from possessing or carrying a firearm. Under Delaware Code Title 11, Section 1448, any juvenile adjudicated delinquent for conduct that would be a felony if committed by an adult loses the right to purchase, own, or possess firearms or ammunition until age 25, according to the Giffords Law Center…