(Newark, DE. 19702) On Sunday, January 5, 2025, at approximately 3:30 a.m., Officers from the New Castle County Division of Police responded to a report of a stolen Ford Bronco Raptor in the unit block of Strickland Court within the Woodland Village neighborhood.
As Officers investigated the incident, they were notified that the Newport Police Department had located the stolen Ford Bronco Raptor at a gas station on Maryland Avenue and provided a description of the suspect driving it. When an Officer attempted to stop the vehicle, it fled into the City of Wilmington. The Newport Police officer pursued the vehicle into the city but eventually lost sight of it near West 5th Street.
Officers from New Castle County Division of Police, Newport Police Department, Wilmington Police Department, and Delaware State Police quickly responded and soon located 18-year-old Zhiayr Taylor, who matched the suspect description and was confirmed as the driver on the 1300 block of West 5th Street. The stolen Ford Bronco Raptor was subsequently recovered nearby on the 1000 block of Carpenter Street in Wilmington.
Zhiayr Taylor was then transported to New Castle County Police headquarters, where he was charged with the following crimes.
- One felony count of theft of a motor vehicle.
- One felony count of burglary first-degree.
- One felony count of conspiracy second-degree.
- One misdemeanor count of theft under $1500.
- One misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of a property collision accident.
- One misdemeanor count of driving without a valid license.
- One misdemeanor count of failure to provide information at a collision scene.
- Zhiayr was additionally charged with felony and misdemeanor traffic violations related to the pursuit by the Newport Police Department.
Zhiayr Taylor was arraigned on all these charges at the Justice of Peace 11 and committed to Howard R. Young Correctional Institution after failing to pay $14,407 cash bail.
Zhiayr Taylor-18