Wilmington man arrested following Road Rage incident in Lewes

Lewes, DE – Delaware State Police arrested a Wilmington man on weapon and felony DUI charges early Friday morning following a road rage incident in Lewes.

On July 30, 2021, at approximately 2:31 a.m., troopers were dispatched to the parking lot of Home Depot located at 17832 Coastal Highway, Lewes, for a road rage incident. A 31-year-old male called 911 after he was followed in his vehicle on Coastal Highway by an aggressive driver who then followed him into the Home Depot parking lot.

Once in the parking lot, the aggressive driver, later identified as John Gillen, 56, of Wilmington, threw a lock at the male’s vehicle and began screaming at him. When troopers arrived on scene and contacted John, a strong odor of alcohol was detected, and a DUI investigation ensued. Gillen was taken into custody, and an inventory search of his vehicle was conducted after he was detained incident to a DUI arrest. Located inside the car were the following items:

1- Makeshift shank approximately 11 inches long
1- Ozark Trail hatchet approximately 14 inches long

A computer search conducted revealed Gillen is a person prohibited from owning a deadly weapon and has two prior DUI convictions. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to Troop 7, where he was charged with the following crimes:

Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony (Felony)
Possession of a Deadly Weapon by a Person Prohibited (Felony)
3rd Offense Driving Under the Influence
Disorderly Conduct
Following a Motor Vehicle Too Closely

Gillen was arraigned in the Justice of the Peace Court #3 and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on a $65,150.00 cash bond.

Source: DE State Police Newsroom