Hartly News

Delaware State Police have issued a Gold Alert for 20-year-old Michael Griffith Jr.

Tow-truck drivers Luis Irizary and Anthony Blanco were sitting in their truck when they spotted a man holding a white bag being chased through the parking lot of a Stanton shopping center by a Fed Ex driver. Irizary and his partner jumped out of their SJ Transport truck and joined in the chase, tackling the robber and holding him for police. “He didn’t have a chance,” Irizary said. It turns out that the three men along with another man identified as Anthony Cassello, of Suburban Lawn and Equipment, were good Samaritans who captured a bandit who had robbed and assaulted a 48-year-old Hartly man. According to state police, the victim was walking out of Stanton Discount Pharmacy, at 2006 W. Newport Pike, at about 10:30 a.m. when he was accosted by 28-year-old William H. Hinckle, of Bear, who snatched the prescription he was carrying from his hands, said Master Cpl. Jeffrey Hale. The victim refused to let go of the bag and the two scuffled until Hinckle wrestled the bag away from the victim. He was then chased through the parking lot by the good Samaritans who held Hinckle until police arrived, Hale said. Seeing the men scuffling, Ron August – who was driving by the shopping center at the time – stopped to see if he could help. “I saw four big guys holding another guy down, and thought these guys were beating somebody up,” August said. “Then I realized that they were trying to subdue him.” August said he could see vials of prescription pills scattered on the ground. The victim, meanwhile, was treated at the scene by county paramedics for minor injuries. Hinckle was charged with one count of first-degree robbery. Bail information was not immediately available.