South American gangs behind Triangle home invasions
Also, interesting crimes in my once sleepy hometown
South American gangs from Venezuela and Chile are allegedly behind a string of high-end home invasions in the Triangle area of North Carolina, according to an ABC11 report.
Homes in Cary, Raleigh, and in Durham have been hit.
Another home in the Triangle was allegedly targeted by a group from South America, according to a newly released warrant from the Cary Police Department.
"Part of the pattern of this group is casing and researching target residences, disconnecting Internet service and phone lines, and targeting residences with high yield potential," the warrant said.
The warrant comes after similar break-ins at high-end homes in Raleigh and Orange County .
The connection between them all is still unknown.
Back in January, four men were arrested after an extensive string of burglaries in Wake County. Investigators said they were part of an organized crime group operating out of South America.
In February, in Orange County high-end homes were hit by different groups of individuals from Chile.
Links in the ABC11 report point to arrests of four men in connection with Wake County robberies.
The men named are Felix Contreras, Emilion Palma-Godoy, Felipe Jara, and Rudeger Garrido Aravena. They were arrested in January.
“Investigators said they carried out at least 20 burglaries between February and December of 2023,” ABC11's story says.
A month later, in February, there were more arrests in Durham County. Those arrested were from Chile and were operating out of Maryland.
Unlike smash-and-grab robberies or Organized Retail Crime (ORC) rings seen in media reports in the past few years, these thieves seem to be targeting rich neighborhoods and specific targets.
More To The Story
The ABC11 story got me wondering what kinds of arrests were being made in my once sleepy hometown of Holly Springs in southern Wake County.
The population growth in my town has been explosive, going from around 17,000 a decade ago to over 53,000 this past year. With that growth have come housing developments, many of which are similar to the high-end homes being hit by the previously mentioned robbery groups and have home price tags of half a million up to $2 million.
When looking at arrests by the Holly Springs Police Department (HSPD), I found most were for driving while impaired. The more serious arrests were for things like drug trafficking, meth, and violent crimes and involved individuals who are not residents of Holly Springs.
A couple of these arrests were disturbing.
In February 2024, HSPD arrested 21-year-old Deonte Marquez Chambers for multiple drug violations and an outstanding warrant in Cumberland County.
Chambers arrest record says he is from Candor, NC, which is in Montgomery County.
In 2014, Chambers was identified among a group of people seen on a security video dropping off a shooting victim at a hospital, per WRAL.
In 2017, he was charged with human trafficking, per the Fayetteville Observer.
A look at Chambers in the NC Dept. of Public Safety (NCDPS) jail database shows he has an extensive criminal record.
Prison records show suspended sentences dominate Chambers' record, including receiving parole for concealed weapons charges.
He currently has a suspended sentence for one count of possession of a schedule I drug, one count of possession with intent to sell of a schedule II narcotic, and charge of possession of a firearm by a felon. Records show for these offenses, Chambers was let out on 24-months of supervised probation. The charges list Guilford County as the location.
2019 charges for Chambers included:
Robbery w/Dangerous Weapon (Conspiracy) 06/23/2017 Felon Class E
Consolidated for Judgment 18000383 Promoting Prostitution (Principal) 01/28/2017 Felon Class F
Consolidated for Judgment 18051865 Child Abuse (Principal) 02/09/2018 Misd. Class A1 Misdemeanor SS
Consolidated for Judgment 18051865 Possess w/Intent to Sell Schedule VI (Principal) 02/09/2018 Felon Class I
He was sent to prison for these charges on Jan. 10, 2019, and was released just over a year later, on Jan. 23, 2020. Chambers served less than half of the minimum sentence of two years and one month and only had a year's worth of parole once released, ending on Jan. 22, 2021.
How is this person out on the streets in North Carolina?
Arrested along with Chambers, on nearly identical drug charges plus a resisting public officer charge, was Daven Rashad Brown.
Brown, from Lumberton, also has an extensive criminal record spanning 2012 to 2014, per NCDPS jail information.
Charges in 2012 include felony larceny of firearms (stealing guns) and breaking into cars.
The 2014 charges included selling schedule VI drugs and common law robbery. He went to jail on April 6, 2015 and was released Oct. 16, 2015. The minimum sentence for the 2014 offenses was supposed to be one year and one month.
Other Arrests
Shoplifting/Larceny - these three ladies came all the way from Greenville and Kinston to rob stores in my town.
These women have criminal records.
These two women had similar charges and came from Red Springs and Fayetteville, respectively.
More theft from individuals who are not Holly Springs residents.
Boyd is an 18-year-old from Siler City and Smith is a 19-year-old from Riegelwood, a town in the easternmost area of Columbus County.
A charge of "Terror to go armed" and concealed weapon for an individual from the next town over. Lee has a past arrest for violating a protective order.
Possession of a firearm by a felon. Neither man is from Holly Springs. Richardson is from Raeford and McNeill is from Dudley.
Richardson has a record of multiple past arrests, some of which were in Durham.
Then there are the arrests for drugs, including methamphetamine.
More meth, but also communicating threats and gun possession; These are just the last five of his 23 arrests for Arnold.
Arnold, who lives in Apex, has been in and out of jail for years and has an extensive record of arrests going back to 2007 for theft, larceny, obtaining property under false pretenses, felony drug possession, and violation of parole.
HSPD arrested an Angier man for drugs, alcohol and gun charges.
Meth arrests. Again. Both of these men are from Sanford.
Another arrestee for felony possession of drugs who does not live in Holly Springs and has a history of driving while impaired and possessing pot. Hood lives in Pink Hill. a town in Lenoir County.
At least one drug arrest actually involves a Holly Springs resident.
29-year-old Joshua McClain has a history of felony drug charges that include possession and/or trafficking of pot, heroin, opium and cocaine. Here are his last three arrest records out of the 16 on file in Wake County, a number of them resulting in at least three years cumulative incarceration.
Another Holly Springs resident was arrested for “assault by pointing a gun.” Glenn has a criminal history of assaulting a female, violating pretrial conditions of that assault arrest, and DWI.
This is quite an assortment and I haven’t even gotten to some of the violent crimes like assault with a deadly weapon yet.
For those who want to see who has been arrested in their town in Wake County, go to the Raleigh/Wake City-County Bureau of Identification website.