A traffic stop over an unregistered car on North DuPont Highway in New Castle turned violent Saturday night, leaving two Delaware State Police troopers injured and a 39-year-old man facing five non-traffic charges. Nolan Lewis was taken into custody after resisting arrest during the stop, which police say quickly escalated into a physical struggle.
According to a September 20, 2026 press release from the Delaware State Police, troopers pulled over a Mitsubishi Lancer that was not displaying a registration plate near North DuPont Highway and Hessler Boulevard on September 19. The car turned out to be unregistered and uninsured, police said. As reported by NBC10 Philadelphia, Lewis was identified as the driver stopped near that intersection.
Troopers discovered that Lewis had multiple outstanding warrants for his arrest, per the same police account, and when they attempted to take him into custody, he resisted. The struggle caused damage to both personal property and Delaware State Police property, and two troopers suffered injuries described by police as non-life-threatening. Even after being placed inside a patrol vehicle, Lewis kicked at the vehicle, according to the press release.
Five Non-Traffic Charges, Including Two Felony Assault Counts
Police say a large knife was found inside the Mitsubishi Lancer during the encounter. The state police release lays out the full scope of charges facing Lewis: two felony counts of Assault Second Degree causing physical injury to a law enforcement officer, one felony count of Resisting Arrest with Force or Violence, one felony count of Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon, felony Criminal Mischief over $1,000, and traffic citations for operating an unregistered, uninsured vehicle.
Under Title 11, Section 612 of the Delaware Code, intentionally causing physical injury to a law-enforcement officer performing official duties is covered by subsection (a)(3), while second-degree assault is generally a Class D felony, according to Justia Law. Separately, Delaware Code Title 11, Section 1257 elevates resisting arrest from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class G felony when someone uses force or violence against an officer or engages in a struggle that causes injury, per Delaware Code Online. The charges include felony assault and resisting-arrest counts.
What the Outstanding Warrants Meant
The warrants cited by state police in Lewis's arrest are known in Delaware judicial procedure as capiases — bench warrants issued by state courts for failing to appear at court hearings or violating probation, according to the Delaware Courts. Following treatment and discharge from a local hospital on September 19, Lewis was taken to Delaware State Police Troop 2, arraigned before the Justice of the Peace Court, and remanded to the Delaware Department of Correction on a $7,000 secured bond, in addition to his outstanding warrants.
Troop 2 sits on Corporal Stephen J. Ballard Way in Newark, a road named for a Delaware trooper killed in the line of duty in 2017.
A Stretch of Road With a Painful Recent History
The intersection where Saturday's stop occurred carries weight for Delaware State Police beyond this single incident. Delaware State Police Corporal Grade One Matthew “Ty” Snook was fatally shot in the line of duty in December 2025 at a Division of Motor Vehicles facility on Hessler Boulevard.
The area has seen other tense encounters in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Delaware State Police troopers arrested a masked burglary suspect carrying a concealed machete along DuPont Highway in New Castle, in what Hoodline previously reported was a car dealership arrest.
