Delaware financial director charged with shoplifting at Home Depot
The director of Delaware’s Office of Management and Budget has been placed on paid leave after he was arrested Friday on multiple shoplifting charges.
Cerron Cade faces six misdemeanor shoplifting charges as Delaware State Police say he lifted mostly low-cost items from the Home Depot just north of Wilmington on multiple occasions beginning this summer, according to court documents and a statement from a State Police spokesperson.
In court documents, police claim he did not scan one or two items as he passed through the store’s self checkout during different visits. The items he is accused of stealing range from $7 worth of potting soil to a rug valued at $200.
He was charged, turned himself in and released pending his arraignment in January. He did not return a phone call seeking comment Monday morning.
What investigators say Cerron Cade stole from Home Depot
In a sworn affidavit setting out evidence to charge Cade, a State Police officer assigned to the case said they were contacted by a “corporate investigator” at Home Depot.
The investigator provided the officer with a list of six incidents in which Cade reportedly employed what the officer referred to as a “skip-scanning” technique to lift goods. The officer’s affidavit states that he watched surveillance footage of Cade failing to pay for certain items in his cart during the six different visits detailed in court documents.
The items include contractor bags valued at $30, the $200 rug, a $15 bottle of laundry detergent, a $15 quart of paint, a patio lantern and candle valued at $51, an animal trap valued at $75, and the $7 bag of soil.
Who is Cerron Cade and what does he do?
Cade is currently the director of Delaware’s Office of Management and Budget. He is poised to take over as chief of staff in Delaware’s largest city when Gov. John Carney is sworn in as Wilmington mayor in the New Year.
Carney, in a Saturday night news release, said Cade had been placed on leave “due to a personal legal matter,” but he did not divulge the legal issues. The state Department of Human Resources will be reviewing the matter to determine whether there was a “violation of the state employee standard of conduct policy.”
WHAT HAPPENED:Delaware’s budget director placed on administrative leave amid ‘personal legal matter’
“Cerron has been a dedicated member of my team for years, so this is obviously a disappointment and a surprise,” Carney said in the release. “I am hopeful he can work through this challenge and return to his career in public service.”
Cade’s political history
Cade, a Wilmington resident who lives a few blocks from Carney, has a long history serving in Carney’s gubernatorial administration and in various political roles in Delaware.
“Cerron has been a trusted advisor and an exceptional leader throughout his career,” Carney said in a news release announcing Cade’s appointment to Wilmington chief of staff. “His deep knowledge of government operations, strategic insight, and dedication to public service make him the ideal choice to help guide our city.”
Cade worked as Carney’s campaign manager when he ran for governor in 2016, and after Carney was elected, Cade was appointed Delaware’s Economic Development Office director. In that role, Cade oversaw the office’s transition into the state Division of Small Business.
In 2018, he was appointed as secretary of labor, where he launched the state’s first contractor registration system and helped navigate the agency during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then, in 2021, Cade moved to the role of management and budget director, where he managed the state’s growing operating budget and delivered “four balanced state budgets and left the administration with a $469 million budget reserve,” an earlier news release boasted.
He also served as legislative liaison to Gov. Jack Markell, county director to U.S. Sen. Tom Carper and legislative aide in the state House of Representatives.
What happens next?
Cade was placed on a paid administrative leave. The Office of Management and Budget director made $161,209 in 2023.
Current Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki’s Chief of Staff Tanya Washington will stay on in her role for the city until the matter with Cade is resolved.
Cade faces six misdemeanors which carry up to one year in prison and a maximum $2,300 fine each.
Cade would be a first-time offender if convicted. Such defendants rarely are sentenced to the maximum punishment under the law.
Mat Marshall, a spokesperson for Attorney General Kathy Jennings, said in a written statement: “The State will treat Mr. Cade like any other first time offender and will prosecute based on the evidence.”
Court documents preliminarily indicate he is set to be arraigned in the Delaware’s Court of Common Pleas in January.
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com
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