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)

Good Afternoon-

Today, we have had 2 reported break-ins in the Hope Valley area.  Near 1 of the break-ins a suspicious vehicle was reported.  It is described as a small red SUV.  At this time, this is all of the information available as we are still gathering data.

If you feel that something does not look like it belongs in your neighborhood, please report it to 911.  We would be pleased to investigate it for you.

Thank you.

Lt. Mark Morais
Assistant Commander- District 3
mark.morais@durhamnc.gov
919-560-4583 x29354

Chimney Ridge & Highgate Dr. area

A female was jogging Sunday afternoon when a young black male jogged past her from behind and grabbed her buttocks. The male then jogged into the Woodwinds subdivision. Suspect is believed to be in his late teens early 20`s, black male, approximately 6’0”, thin, muscular build, with high top hairstyle. The suspect was wearing no shirt and light blue long gym shorts.

Anyone with information please contact Inv. Stevenson at 919-560-4583 ext. * 29360 or Sergeant Johnson at 919-560-4583 ext. *29539

The Durham Police Department would like to share the following personal safety tips:
• Be aware of your surroundings
• Call 911 to report any suspicious activities
• Do not walk alone
• Try to remain in well-lit areas
• Trust your instincts
• Do not walk/run with earbuds or headphones
• Bring a cell phone

Vehicle Break-ins Parking Lots near American Tobacco Trail

Six vehicle break-ins have occurred over the last month in the parking lots adjacent to the trail- 7600 Block of Fayetteville Rd and 511 Scott King Rd. All of the vehicles were locked, but valuables were left inside.

The Durham Police Department offers the following vehicle break-in crime prevention tips:
• Do not leave packages in plain view inside your vehicle. Put them in the trunk or cover them up.
• Do not leave valuables in your vehicle
• Keep a record of serial numbers for electronics
• Keep your vehicle in a well-lighted area
• Report suspicious activity to 911
• Secure your vehicle at all times. Lock your doors

Captain M. K. Bond
Executive Officer to the Chief of Police
Durham Police Department
505 W. Chapel Hill Street
Durham, NC 27701
O:  919-560-4322 (*29202)
F:  919-560-4971
marianne.bond@durhamnc.gov

http://Facebook.com/DurhamPoliceDepartment

1. Install a 6 foot privacy fence around your back yard with locked gated entrance.
2. Install a monitored home security system and use it, making sure when you leave, if only for an errand or walking the dog the house is locked and the alarm is on. Some home owners turn the system on when going to bed at night.
3. Install motion detector lights over the doors, garage, driveway.
4. Install exterior and interior video cameras. Some alarm companies offer this package.
5. Record serial numbers of all electronics and mark them in the event that they are stolen for ease of tracing them.
6. During the day, if you have  large window(s) in the front or the sides of your house, keep shear drapes (that let light in) fully closed and/or blinds pulled at an angle that prevents someone outside from seeing the interior of the home. If at night, fully close window blinds and full outer drapes  (if you have them) for the same reason.
7. If you have a garage with windows, buy affordable self sticking window covers (Lots of designs to choose from) so the interior of the garage cannot be observed. Many of us have entries into our homes via the garage so this is very important.
8. Do not leave your garage door open when you are home or when you are working in another part of the yard and not in the garage. Again, aside from criminals stealing any belongings kept in the garage (or breaking into a parked vehicle), many of us have garages with entry into our homes.
9. Get to know your neighbors next door, across the street and behind you.
10. Notify close neighbors and your block captain if you are going to be out of town.
11. When traveling make arrangements to have your mail/newspaper delivery interrupted or have a neighbor pick them up daily to give the impression you are home.
12. Delay ordering UPS or large packages that may be delivered to your home when you are out of town. We have also had reports of delivered packages stolen. Or again divert the package to a family or close neighbor, or lastly notify a close neighbor or family to be on the lookout for the package and keep it safe until your return.
13. Reinforce porch screens/windows and entry doors to your home.
14. And this list can go on. These are some key actions. Many of you can think of many more. Please feel free to comment on this post if you have ideas.

Be safe, be vigilant. Your neighborhood watch team.

Good Afternoon-

District 3 is investigating a number of vehicle break-ins that occurred last night.  A high concentration occurred in the apartments near the area of the 4800 blk of University Dr and around the 4200 blk of Garrett Rd.  The vehicles have had windows broken out and door pried open.  At this time, it is still an open investigation.

This is just a reminder to not leave any valuables in vehicles.  As seen last night, suspects will physically break into vehicles to get what they want out.

Also- if you see anyone in your neighborhood that looks suspicious, please do not hesitate to call 911 to have officers check it out.  We will respond to every call that we get so do not feel as though you are bothering us.

We thank you again for all that you do.

Lt. Mark Morais
Assistant Commander- District 3
919-560-4583 x29354
mark.morais@durhamnc.gov