Crime: Here’s Why You Need to Close Your Garage Door

/4 Comments/in , , /by

Story by Hal Goodtree. Photo by Chris Corwin.

Cary, NC – Thursday morning, a man in Cary was robbed at gunpoint and duct-taped to his bed. Fortunately, Cary Police arrested the suspect within hours.

But the chilling part – the robber entered the home through an open garage door. I always leave my garage door open when I’m home. How about you?

Another Quick Arrest for Cary PD

For the full story of Thursday’s events, we go to information from the Town of Cary:

The Town of Cary Police Department has arrested a suspect in an armed robbery and home invasion that took place this morning in the MacGregor Downs subdivision in Cary. James Edwin Deetz, 26, is charged with felony breaking and entering, kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and larceny of a motor vehicle.

“We are glad to bring a quick resolution to this very serious crime,” said Cary Police Department District 3 Captain Randall Rhyne.

This morning, Cary police received a report of an armed robbery at 9:35 a.m. Deetz entered the home of the 51-year-old Cary resident through a garage door that had been left open and approached the resident, first pointing a gun at him and then taking him to a bedroom and duct taping him to the bed. He then took the homeowner’s wallet and keys and left the scene in the victim’s vehicle. The victim, who was not hurt during the incident, was able to free himself and called police from a neighbor’s home.

As part of its investigation, Cary Police alerted other law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for the stolen vehicle; the Wilson Mills Police Department located Deetz in the victim’s black Cadillac STS on Highway 70 near Buffalo Road and took him into custody.

“This appears to have been a crime of opportunity, resulting from the suspect seeing the open garage door,” said Rhyne. “We can’t stress enough the importance of citizens locking their vehicles and closing their garage doors after them when they enter their homes.”

Garage burglaries and automobile-related thefts are Cary’s most occurring preventable crime. While there isn’t anything illegal about leaving garages or car doors open or leaving items in clear view, doing so makes it very easy for criminals to steal valuable things like tools, food, GPS units, wallets and purses. In 2008, the Town of Cary Police Department launched its outreach program “Operation Hello Neighbor” to educate citizens on the risks of open and unlocked doors.

Close Your Garage Door!

The message here: keep your garage door closed.

Cary is the wealthiest municipality in North Carolina. Let’s be smart. Those who want to commit crimes aren’t driving out to Roxboro.

Great job today by the Cary Police. Now, we all need to do our part to make the town a safer place.

I guess I’ll be closing my own garage door from now on.

4 replies
  2. Melissa
    Melissa says:

    I like the articles that Cary Citizen provides and the format and content is great. However, some of the stories contain generalizations and lack sources for some of the facts. Commenting that Cary is the “wealthiest” municipality in North Carolina is not in fact true or relevant to the story. I love Cary Citizen but I would like to see more concise articles with less editorializing.

  3. Hal Goodtree
    Hal Goodtree says:

    Gary –

    No offense meant to Roxboro, a town near and dear to my heart.

    But every community has crime. What’s different about Cary is that people drive here to rip off the unsuspecting. As well, we have our own home-grown miscreants. Bit of a double whammy.

    Cary is one of the safest communities in the state (and the nation). But it won’t stay that way unless people take common sense precautions.

    Is leaving the garage door open generally a problem in Roxboro? Not as far as I can tell. But it is becoming a hazard in Cary.

    That’s my point. Know where you are. Be safe.

  4. gary
    gary says:

    So sorry that, the “wealthy elite” in Cary are the targets of such crimes. Lucky for us “peasants” in Roxboro that we don’t have that problem. I wonder where the crooks live?

Comments are closed.