Wake County man detained at RDU in car break-in, stolen truck case

A Wake County man wanted on multiple break-in and stolen-vehicle charges was detained Tuesday at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, closing a case that began with scattered reports of car thefts and a police chase in the southern part of the county.

Court records identified the suspect as 19-year-old Zhyere A. James. Deputies said the case started Jan. 17, when they responded to multiple reports of motor vehicle break-ins, larcenies and a stolen vehicle across southern Wake County. In that same investigation, a Wake County K-9 deputy spotted a stolen Dodge Ram truck and tried to stop it, but the driver kept going. Deputies said officers lost sight of the truck and called off the chase.

The arrest at RDU gives law enforcement a custody target in a case that had stretched from the January break-ins to an airport detention more than three months later. The Wake County Sheriff’s Office said James was booked into the Wake County Detention Center after airport authority police detained him at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.

Charges listed in court records include five counts of breaking and/or entering a motor vehicle, two counts of breaking and/or entering a motor vehicle with theft, one count of larceny of a motor vehicle, one count of felony flee to elude and one count of possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Court records showed a $40,000 bond tied to the car break-in and larceny charges, along with a separate $30,000 bond for the pursuit-related charges. James is scheduled to return to court May 12.

The case also underscores how property crime investigations can spread across multiple neighborhoods and last for weeks before an arrest is made. Deputies said the January incidents involved numerous vehicles, and a separate Wake County stolen-car chase on Jan. 14 pushed through parts of Wake and Durham counties, showing how often stolen-vehicle cases can cross jurisdictional lines before they are resolved.

Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Police said its department is a fully accredited North Carolina law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the airport’s 5,000 acres and nearby roadways, backed by about 70 full- and part-time officers and support employees. In this case, that reach helped put a wanted suspect into custody at one of the Triangle’s busiest travel hubs while the broader investigation remains open.