A third man has been charged in connection with a Sunday home invasion that resulted in police firing their weapons, New Castle County Police announced on Wednesday.
The police statement also disclosed that the third man charged in the home invasion, 23-year-old Alistair Dipasquale, had been shot during the early morning incident.
Police said they waited days to tell the public that a third person was involved for fear he would not be found.
“It was a rapidly moving investigation and once we learned that a third person was involved and fled, there was fear that sharing that at the time would hinder the ability to identify and locate the third suspect,” Cpl. Michael McNasby told Delaware Online/The News Journal.
Background:New Castle County police name man shot by officers during home invasion near New Castle
Dipasquale was one of three men who entered a home in the first block of West Minuit Drive about 1:50 a.m. Sunday, police said. The home was occupied by eight people, including three children.
Police: Intruders used gun, ransacked home
The intruders held the victims at gunpoint and ransacked the home while stealing miscellaneous property, police said.
As the men left, police said they were met by arriving officers who directed them to obey their orders. The men, however, did not cooperate.
The officers then fired their weapons, striking 20-year-old Evan Chandler of Bear, who survived the shooting.
Dipasquale was also injured in the officer-involved shooting, but he managed to flee the scene as Chandler and 22-year-old David Salasky III of New Castle were taken into custody that night.
Dipasquale was arrested by county police and FBI agents on Tuesday while near the 900 block of N. Franklin St. in Wilmington. That’s when police said they learned Dipasquale had been shot during the early Sunday incident.
He was treated at an area hospital before police took him to New Castle County Police headquarters.
The three men have been charged with various crimes, including first-degree robbery and weapons charges.
Dipasquale, Chandler and Salasky were being held at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution after failing to post their cash bails.
Salasky is the son of David Salasky Jr., who was sentenced to two life terms in 2014 after pleading guilty but mentally ill in the fatal stabbing of New Castle County Police Lt. Joseph Szczerba in 2011.
Background:Salasky pleads guilty but mentally ill in officer’s slaying
According to police and prosecutors, on the night of Sept. 16, 2011, Salasky was high on the designer drug bath salts – which is known to cause hallucinations – when he went on a burglary spree in the Penn Acres neighborhood.
Szczerba, 44, was responding to reports of a man breaking into cars when he encountered Salasky. According to pre-trial testimony, Salasky fled from Szczerba because he believed that Szczerba was growing fangs.
Salasky also had a long and detailed history of mental illness before his encounter with Szczerba.
When Szczerba caught up with Salasky and tried to stop him, Salasky stabbed the officer repeatedly with a knife. Szczerba later died as a result of his injuries.
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com.