Two Students Accused In Series Of Wake Break-Ins

Holly Springs Police Chief Cecil Parker said 17-year-old Douglas Driver and 18-year-old Christopher Holt went to the homes of fellow classmates in the Sunset Ridge subdivision in Holly Springs and stole items out of their cars and open garages.

Holly Springs police said the two Fuquay-Varina teens are responsible for stealing a number of items, including golf clubs, DVD players and global positioning systems.

Police said the football players were selling the stolen goods on eBay. Jackie Strauss got her laptop back before it was listed online.

"It's very dismaying," she said. "If you want to assign blame, they are bored, have the Internet and are pretty sophisticated from what I can tell."

When they were caught in the act early Friday morning, the two Catholic high school students broke down and admitted to being involved in 30 to 50 more property crimes in the Wakefield area of north Raleigh, police said.

"Initially, we just thought it was two juveniles up to something mischievous," Parker said.

Police say Driver and Holt were using walkie-talkies to coordinate their crimes, and they may not have been in it alone. Detectives claim the two football players say dozens of other students are involved as well. Raleigh police have now joined in the investigation.

"Based on statements from the two suspects, they were all enrolled at Cardinal Gibbons High School," Parker said.

Holt is out of jail on a $100,000 secured bond. Driver is still behind bars. WRAL was unable to reach the president and principal at Cardinal Gibbons High School. This week, students and staff are on winter break.

In 2003, authorities arrested more than 750 juveniles under the age of 18 for robbery. According to the North Carolina Department of Justice, that number is actually down about seven percent from the previous year. In 2002, more than 800 juveniles were charged with theft.