Day: July 17, 2020

Incident Number: 50-20-17762

Date/Time:  Friday, July 17th, 2020 at 11:43AM

Location:  Zales (Inside of Dover Mall), 1365 N. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE

Officer Releasing Information:   Sergeant Mark Hoffman, Public Information Officer

Narrative: 

The Dover Police Department arrested 25-year-old Mazen Faraj after he attempted to rob the Zales jewelry store inside of the Dover Mall on Friday morning.  At approximately 11:43AM, Faraj entered the business and displayed a purple and silver handgun while demanding jewelry from an employee.  The employee refused and the suspect fled the store on foot, but remained in the mall.  Arriving officers located Faraj upon arrival and took him into custody despite him resisting arrest.  Faraj was still in possession of the firearm used in the robbery when he was taken into custody.

Faraj was committed to Howard R. Young Correctional Institute on a $157,000 secured bond on the following charges:
-Attempted Robbery 1st Degree
-Possession of Firearm During Commission of Felony
-Possession of Firearm by Person Prohibited
-Carrying Concealed Deadly Weapon
-Wearing a Disguise During Commission of Felony
-Resisting Arrest

Incident Number: 50-20-17725

Date/Time:  Friday, July 17th, 2020 at 11:40AM

Location:  College Road, Dover, DE

Officer Releasing Information:   Sergeant Mark Hoffman, Public Information Officer

Narrative: 

The Dover Police Department responded to a College Road residence at approximately 11:40AM after a woman reported that her adult son was behaving erratically and that she was in fear.  Officers arrived and the subject entered the home and refused to comply with officers.  After failed attempts to have the subject leave the house, the Dover Police Department deployed the Crisis Negotiation Team and the Special Operations Response Team to the residence.  Negotiators attempted to make contact with the subject between 1:00PM-4:00PM.  Shortly after 4:00PM, the subject surrendered to police without incident and he was transported to Kent General Hospital where he will undergo a psychological evaluation.  Traffic on College Road was detoured with the assistance of the Delaware Department of Transportation during this incident.

The name of the subject involved is not being released at this time.

Incident Number: 50-20-17604

Date/Time:  Tuesday, July 16th, 2020 at approximately 2:39AM

Location:  Wells Fargo Bank, 100 N. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE

Officer Releasing Information:   Sergeant Mark Hoffman, Public Information Officer

Narrative: 

The Dover Police Department is investigating an armed robbery that took place at an outdoor ATM at the Wells Fargo Bank located at 100 North DuPont Highway.  At approximately 2:39AM on Thursday morning, a male victim was withdrawing cash from the ATM when he was approached by a black male suspect on foot.  The suspect pointed a gun at the victim and demanded money and the victim dropped his wallet, but was still holding cash in his hand from the ATM.  The victim then fled eastbound across DuPont Highway and the suspect fired at least three shots at the victim.  The victim was not struck, but one round did strike a parked vehicle in the area.  The victim observed the suspect enter a vehicle behind the bank and flee southbound with an undisclosed amount of cash from the victim.  

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the Dover Police Department at (302)736-7130. Callers may remain anonymous.  Tips may also be submitted to law enforcement through Delaware Crime Stoppers at 800-TIP-3333 or online at delaware.crimestoppersweb.com; a cash reward of up to $1,000 is possible for information leading to an arrest.