Fight in Newark leads to stolen gun arrest

A fight at a party in Newark led to the arrest of a man who threatened to “shoot the house up” with a stolen gun, city police said Wednesday.

Michael L. Chamberlin, 22, of Hartly, was arrested after police responded shortly before 12:30 a.m. Sunday to the report of a fight in the 300 block of Delaware Circle, Lt. Bill Hargrove said.

Arriving officers found him banging on the front door of a home, he said.

Police found he had a loaded Beretta 9mm handgun concealed in his waistband and had a backpack with a laptop computer and other property – all stolen from a car parked at the Newark Shopping Center along Main Street, Hargrove said.

The owner of the stolen goods parked there from 11:30 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday, Hargrove said, but did not report the theft of his property until Sunday afternoon.

“We had recovered it before it was reported stolen,” he said.

As police continued their investigation of Chamberlin, they learned “that he had been the aggressor in a fight earlier in the evening inside the house” where he was arrested, Hargrove said.

The resident had asked Chamberlin to leave, he added, but he returned and threatened to “shoot the house up” while banging on the door.

Chamberlin was charged with receiving a stolen firearm, receiving stolen property over $1,500 for the computer, carrying a concealed deadly weapon, possession of a weapon in a Safe School Zone due to the incident’s proximity to Newark High School, terroristic threatening, offensive touching, criminal mischief and firearm possession by a person with a prior violent crime and firearm possession by a prohibited person, Hargrove said.

Police did not disclose what past offense or offenses led to Chamberlin being prohibited from gun possession.

He was committed to Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington after failing to post $18,000 secured bail.

Contact robin brown at (302) 324-2856 or rbrown@delawareonline.com. Find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @rbrowndelaware.