Holes in walls, rooftop capture part of Cameron Village caper

Isaac Corben Mau, 24, of 2912 Glenanneve Place, was charged with breaking and entering, larceny and felony drug possession. He was released Friday after posting a $50,000 bond.

Neal Harrington said the situation started early Monday at his Antiques Emporium shop when someone tried to break in and steal jewelry but was unable to smash the glass cases where it was displayed.

"After he came through the wall, our motion detector went off, and he was only in here for two minutes," Harrington said Friday. "He did seem to know where the really valuable stuff was, but he gave up before he got it."

A police report states someone drilled out the locks on a rear door and an interior door at the adjacent Cheshire Cat Gallery last Saturday. Harrington said a utility closet was on the other side of the wall where the hole was cut.

"It’s pretty strange. Somebody must’ve taken a liking to this place," he said, "because he kept breaking through walls and crawling around."

The owner of the Cheshire Cat Gallery spent the night in the store when he found a hole cut into the wall of his store this week, but the burglar escaped when the owner called police.

On Thursday night, another break-in occurred at Cheshire Cat Gallery, and two samurai swords were stolen.

This time, however, the Raleigh police SWAT team swarmed the shopping center and was able to corner a suspect on the roof.

"I don’t even know how he got up there," Harrington said. "They had the back area surrounded, the front area surrounded, and they were aiming a lot of guns at him."

Allen Murray and wife were eating at Cameron Bar & Grill nearby and saw the commotion.

"This morning, my son called me and texted me that our next door neighbor ... that apparently someone living with him has been caught and accused of doing the burglary," Murray said. "Interesting neighbors, wouldn’t you say?"

Police said they are investigating to determine whether to charge Mau with the earlier break-ins at both shops.