Edison Men Offer to Rake Leaves, Instead Beat Man and Steal His Marijuana, Police Say

The Delaware State Police arrested two men from Edison Wednesday, after they said they first approached a man at his home posing as leaf rakers and then beat him up and stole his marijuana, more than 300 grams of it, State Police said. The incident occurred in Millsboro, Delaware, a tiny, rural town south of Rehoboth Beach.

At around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, a homeowner on Gulls Point Road called 911 to report that a tenant was tied up in his garage. When troopers got there, they discovered the 23-year-old male victim had been assaulted by two men that initially stopped by the house and asked to rake leaves. The two suspects, who had rakes in their hands, were informed that their service was not needed. The victim and the two subjects began talking when one of the subjects struck him in the face with a rake, causing him to fall to the ground.

The two then drug the victim to the garage, where they zip tied his hands and feet together before one of the men put a knife to his neck demanding to know where his “weed” was located, police said. Once the two obtained the marijuana, they fled the area in a black Mitsubishi Galant with New Jersey registration, state police said.

Information regarding the vehicle was broadcast over the radio and a trooper responding to the area spotted the vehicle and pulled it over on Oak Orchard Road. Miguel R. Velasquez, 20, and Kent A. Mautes, 21, both of Edison, New Jersey, were taken into custody without incident. A search of the vehicle yielded 301.2 grams of marijuana. They were transported back to Troop 4 in Georgetown where they was charged with Robbery 1st, Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony, Assault 2nd, Burglary 2nd, Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance (Marijuana), Aggravated Menacing, Conspiracy 2nd, Terroristic Threatening, and Possession of Marijuana. The were both arraigned and committed to the Sussex Correctional Institution on a $70,000 secured bond.

The victim was transported to an area hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released.

"The victim of the robbery was not charged due to the way he confessed to owning the marijuana," Master Corporal Jeffrey Hale of the Delaware State Police told Patch Friday. "It was decided that it would be a difficult case to prosecute."

Photo: Kent A. Mautes, left, and Miguel R. Velasquez, right, in a photo provided by Delaware State Police.