Greetings;

 This is the District 3 Criminal Investigations weekly newsletter.

 Mitchell S. Battle 9/29/82

District 3 Investigators obtained warrants on Mitchell S. Battle charging him with Felony Breaking and Entering, Felony Larceny after Breaking and Entering, Injury to Real Property, Second Degree Trespass and Felony Safecracking. These charges stemmed from a recent burglary at the Durham Coop Market located at 1111 W. Chapel Hill Street. This investigation is ongoing. Mr. Battle was arrested and transported to the Durham County Jail on August 11, 2016 and was placed under a $10,000 bond which he promptly posted.

There has been a spike in burglaries in the Hope Valley community during the last week. There have been five burglaries, most were forced entry with the back door being kicked in but there have been some where the suspects made entry through an unlocked sliding door or an open window. The times of these burglaries are really sporadic for instance this week we have seen them happen between the hours of 2:00 P.M. and 4:30 P.M. then there was a burglary that occurred after 10:00 P.M. where the resident heard a noise went downstairs to investigate and saw the suspect leaving the house. By way of crime prevention tips, it is always a good idea to leave a light on downstairs before turning in for the night, lock all your doors, if you have cameras make sure they are working and lock your windows and place your alarm on the stay mode. We are looking for a black male about 5’10 to 6 foot, 150 to 170 lbs. We know that he gets out of a Red SUV (unknown make or model) and he walks up to the residence that we think he has identified earlier and rings the bell two or three times. If no one answers he goes around the back and kicks the door in and enters the residence and ransacks the house. The suspect steals jewelry, money, electronics and car keys.

We don’t think this guy(s) is someone we have dealt with in the past because his methodology, technique or procedure is very different. This suspect is very rushed and careless during these crimes. We also know that this suspect appears to prefer houses that are close to the wood lines or yards with a large amount of foliage in order to hide from police. With that said, I expect that this guy will be hearing from us in the very near future. However, until that time, trim your trees and cut back your bushes in your yards. This will make your home safer and discourage bad guys from making your home a target. And please use your alarms when you leave your homes.

There has been a rise in Break-ins to Motor Vehicles so far since last Saturday (8-6-16) there has been a total of 27 vehicle break-ins throughout the district. The majority of these vehicles were found unlocked and each had personal items of value in plain view. These vehicle break-ins are occurring usually after 10:00 P.M. and the suspect(s) are walking through neighborhoods pulling doors and making entry. So far the only description of the suspect we have is a slim (very skinny) black male wearing a gray hoodie and dark athletic pants. Items taken have been money, electronics, lap-tops and I-Phones all of which were left in view of the suspect(s). Please make sure you secure your valuables by either putting them in the glove box, under your seat or even better in the trunk of the car and make sure you lock your car before leaving it.

Finally, call 911 if you see suspicious vehicles, persons or activities in your neighborhood and let us come and check it out.

Don’t become an easy target…protect yourselves and your valuables!!

It’s great to be back!!!

Until next time…stay safe!!!

Keith,

Sergeant K.L. Johnson
Durham Police Department
Criminal Investigations Division
District 3
8 Consultant Place
Durham, North Carolina 27707
919-560-4583 ext 29359 (Office)
919-907-9810 (City Cell)