(Wilmington, DE. 19805) On Sunday, December 21, 2025, at approximately 12:40 p.m., an Officer from D-Squad was on routine patrol near Maryland Avenue in Wilmington when he observed a white Acura TLX driving towards the City of Wilmington. The Officer conducted a registration check on the vehicle, which returned as stolen on December 20, 2025, and was being investigated by the Delaware State Police. The Officer activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic stop; however, the driver, later identified as 43-year-old David Smith of Wilmington, fled in the stolen Acura at a high rate of speed into the City of Wilmington. The Officer continued to follow the stolen Acura and observed Smith commit multiple traffic violations, including running several stop signs. Due to his reckless high-speed driving through residential areas, the Officer eventually lost sight of the vehicle.
A New Castle County Police Officer later located the stolen Acura abandoned at the intersection of West 2nd Street and North Union Street. A description of the driver was obtained and quickly shared with responding units to aid in the search. Shortly thereafter, a Delaware State Trooper spotted an individual matching the description on South Union Street in Wilmington and took David Smith into custody.
At the time of his arrest, David Smith was also wanted by the New Castle County Police Department in connection with a burglary that occurred on Friday, December 5, 2025, at approximately 4:10 a.m., at a business in the 3300 block of Old Capitol Trail in Wilmington. Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Unit identified Smith as the suspect who forcibly entered the business and stole cash, along with more than 30 cartons of cigarettes. As a result, Detectives had been actively searching for him before his arrest.
David Smith was transported to New Castle County Police Headquarters, where he was charged with the following offenses:
- One Felony Count of Disregarding a Police Officer’s Signal
- One Felony Count of Wearing a Disguise During a Felony
- One Felony Count of Burglary in the Third Degree
- One Felony Count of Theft Under $1500
- One Misdemeanor Count of Reckless Driving
- One Misdemeanor Count of Criminal Mischief under $1000
- One Misdemeanor Count of Resisting Arrest
- One Misdemeanor Count of Driving While Suspended or Revoked
- Seven Violations of Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign.
- One Violation of Unattended Motor Vehicle
David Smith was also found to have an outstanding warrant for motor vehicle theft, along with other related charges issued by the Delaware State Police, and he was subsequently arraigned on those charges.
David Smith was arraigned on all charges from both agencies by Justice of the Peace Court 11 and committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution after failing to post $23,000 in cash bail.
David Smith – 43