U.S. Attorney’s Office Recognizes NCCPD Officers as “Hometown Heroes”

WILMINGTON, Del. - On May 19, 2026, U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace presented the District's Freedom 250 Hometown Hero award to Officers First Class Christopher Hewlett, Nathan Jupiter, and Jay Scerbo of the New Castle County Police Department. Officer Scerbo's award was presented in his absence. Members of the New Castle County Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Attorney's Office were present for the ceremony.

The Hometown Hero award commemorates the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. It honors the enduring ideals of liberty, service, and civic responsibility. Officers Hewlett, Jupiter, and Scerbo were chosen for this award for embodying those ideals and for their steadfast commitment to public service and their exceptional work safeguarding our communities.

Officers Hewlett, Jupiter, and Scerbo were on patrol duty on November 24, 2025. Shortly before midnight, they spotted a white Toyota Tacoma in Canby Park West. After lawfully stopping the truck, the officers developed probable cause to order the car's sole occupant-Luqmaan Khan-out of the truck to search it. During that search, the officers found a loaded handgun, multiple extended magazines, an armored ballistic plate, and a marble composition book. A later search of Khan's home conducted by the FBI and NCCPD uncovered a handgun equipped with an illegal machinegun conversion device, a rifle with a red dot sight, 11 more extended magazines, hollow point rounds of ammunition, and a tactical vest.

The marble composition notebook recovered from the truck discussed additional weapons, how they could be used in an attack, and how law enforcement detection could be avoided once an attack was carried out. The notebook also referenced a member of the University of Delaware's Police Department by name, and included a layout of a building with entry and exit points under which the words "UD Police Station" were printed.

When presenting the awards, U.S. Attorney Wallace said, "The courage and professionalism that these three men showed on November 24, 2025, potentially averted a mass shooting and the slaying of one or more members of the University of Delaware's campus police department. That is service of the highest order. The State is in these officers' debt."

The U.S. Attorney's Office is honored to recognize Officers First Class Hewlett, Jupiter, and Scerbo as our District's Freedom 250 Hometown Heroes.

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