WILMINGTON, Delaware — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware recognized Officers First Class Christopher Hewlett, Nathan Jupiter and Jay Scerbo of the New Castle County Police Department as the district’s Freedom 250 Hometown Heroes, according to a May 21 Department of Justice announcement.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace presented the award on May 19. The DOJ release said Officer Scerbo’s award was presented in his absence, and members of NCCPD, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office attended the ceremony.

Patrol stop cited in campus-police threat case

According to the DOJ release, Hewlett, Jupiter and Scerbo were on patrol duty on November 24, 2025, when they stopped a white Toyota Tacoma in Canby Park West shortly before midnight.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the officers developed probable cause to order the truck’s sole occupant out of the vehicle and search it. The DOJ release said officers found a loaded handgun, multiple extended magazines, an armored ballistic plate and a marble composition book.

Federal prosecutors said a later FBI and NCCPD search of the man’s home uncovered additional weapons, magazines, ammunition and tactical gear. The release said the notebook recovered from the truck discussed additional weapons and referenced a member of the University of Delaware Police Department by name, along with a building layout marked “UD Police Station.”

“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,” Wallace said in the DOJ announcement.

Recognition for steady patrol work

The Hometown Hero award commemorates the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States and recognizes service, civic responsibility and commitment to public safety, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The office said Hewlett, Jupiter and Scerbo were chosen for “their steadfast commitment to public service and their exceptional work safeguarding our communities.”

For readers who support law enforcement, the case is a reminder that routine patrol work can become the moment that stops a much larger threat before it reaches a campus, a family or another officer.

Sources reviewed

Editorial note: ThinBlueNews relied on the official DOJ release and used the official source photo with attribution. This article avoids adding details beyond the public DOJ account and frames case-related claims as statements from federal prosecutors.