WILMINGTON, N.C. — A Wilmington man has pled guilty to two robberies carried out in 2024, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
On July 21, 2024, 54-year-old Kevin Abron Wade entered Bottega Art and Wine on North 4th Street and attempted to buy a Mountain Dew. When his card was declined, Wade went behind the counter, implied he was armed by grabbing his side, and demanded the register be opened. He stole $250 in cash and the bartender’s iPhone before fleeing.
The victim later pinged her iPhone to Campbell Street, where a resident provided surveillance footage showing Wade exiting a blue Hyundai Elantra wearing the same clothing from the robbery. Additional footage placed him at Walgreens on Carolina Beach Road around 9 p.m., still driving the same vehicle.
Inside the store, Wade approached the cashier holding a silver object — later identified as a nutcracker seized from his home — and demanded money, poking the cashier in the side during the robbery. He had changed clothes but continued to wear the same hand towel seen during the first incident. A hat worn by Wade in the footage was later recovered from the trash at his residence.
On July 22, officers stopped a vehicle matching the suspect car. Wade was in the passenger seat and was arrested.
Wade has a history of prior convictions, including common law robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon, breaking and entering, larceny, embezzlement, and assault.
He was sentenced to 87–117 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution to the victims as part of his work release and post-release supervision.
