DURHAM, N.C. — A Durham teen was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with breaking into 23 homes in the Sparger Road/Cole Mill Road area in western Durham during the past three weeks.

Michael Turrentine Jr., 17, of Cole Mill Road was charged with 23 counts of breaking and entering, 17 counts of larceny and two counts of larceny of a firearm. Bond for Turrentine was set at $50,000.

Turrentine was arrested after police received a tip about a suspicious person near Wyndham Place. Investigators who were working undercover in the area with other officers discovered a broken window at the back of a house on Wyndham Place and spotted someone inside the house. Officers entered the house and found Turrentine hiding in a closet.

The break-ins occurred on weekdays between noon and 3 p.m. In most cases the houses were entered by breaking a rear door or window and items stolen included jewelry, firearms, laptop computers, cash and small electronic items.

Polcie said the arrest clears break-ins on Baldwin Drive, Jefferson Drive, Knollwood Drive, Nancy Rhodes Drive, Clarion Drive, Chalice Street, Wyndham Lane, Sparger Road, Cole Mill Road and Sunny Court.