Wake County judge hears case tied to Triangle vehicle break-ins spree

A surveillance video from South Saunders Street helped tie a Wake County court case to a string of vehicle break-ins stretching from Raleigh to Durham and across the Triangle.

Lester Mayo, 18, appeared in Wake County court Friday after Raleigh police said he was served with 38 warrants that added up to 110 felony charges and 52 misdemeanor charges. He received no bond on one weapons charge and a $250,000 secured bond on other Wake County charges, while a separate $250,000 secured bond was set on Durham County charges. Corey Wright, also 18, was arrested by Cary police and charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle, resisting a public officer and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

Raleigh police said the investigation accelerated after a report in the 1900 block of South Saunders Street on April 28, when someone captured a suspect breaking into vehicles while brandishing a handgun. Investigators said that case linked to other break-ins across Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, Garner, Apex and Chapel Hill, with more than a dozen firearms reported stolen during the spree. Police and court records described the activity as a coordinated pattern, not a one-off theft.

The Durham County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division had already charged Mayo on Friday, April 17, in connection with thefts from motor vehicles in and around Research Triangle Park. Durham County authorities said he was interviewed after an arrest in an adjoining jurisdiction and alleged he committed the crimes while wearing a court-ordered monitoring device.

The case fits a broader Triangle problem that police say keeps repeating in apartment lots, subdivision driveways and other high-traffic parking areas. Raleigh’s Lock It or Lose It campaign reported 2,520 vehicle break-ins in 2020. In those cases, 96% of targeted vehicles showed no visible damage, 211 firearms were stolen from vehicles and 105 vehicles were stolen after suspects found a key inside. Raleigh also said 53% of the targeted vehicles were at single-family homes or apartment complexes.

That pattern explains why investigators focus so heavily on locked doors, removed valuables and firearms kept out of cars. Break-ins that start as nuisance thefts can quickly turn into weapons cases, juvenile charges and cross-county warrants, especially when suspects move through apartment complexes, construction sites and busy retail lots looking for the easiest target.

Durham Police Department crime statistics and gun-related arrest data provide another reminder that the issue is tracked across county lines, not confined to one neighborhood. Similar cases have surfaced before, including a 2025 Triangle investigation that authorities said involved more than 100 vehicle break-ins, eight stolen cars and numerous stolen firearms and credit cards.