Police link burned SUV to Cary home invasion

Five men forced their way into a home in the 400 block of Sandy Whispers Place, held the homeowners at gunpoint while they stole electronics, jewelry, handbags and wallets and then forced one person to go to a nearby ATM and withdraw cash, police said.

The robbers fled the area in a blue 2013 Ford Explorer that belongs to one of the victims, and police said the vehicle was found burning shortly after midnight on Anacosta Road in Durham, near Shepard Middle School. Police said the vehicle was likely set ablaze to destroy any evidence left inside.

"We've been getting calls and leads, and we've been following up on those leads," Cary police Capt. Randall Rhyne said. "It's a continued active investigation, and like I say, we're following up on all the calls we're getting."

A Cary couple, their 4-year-old daughter and a family friend reported only minor injuries in the robbery, police said.

The family is of Indian descent, and neighbors question whether Indians are being targeted for crime, noting other Indian families in the area have had their homes burglarized.

"You hear things of this nature, 'Don't put things on the house that make it pretty obvious who you are,'" neighbor Nishant Dholakia said. "Personally I don't have any evidence to back this."

Police likewise said there's no evidence to suggest that Indian families are being targeted.

"We find no evidence that any particular group is being targeted. Unfortunately, that's a very nice neighborhood, and criminals go where the nice things are," Rhyne said.

Whatever the motive of Thursday's robbery, Dholakia and other nearby residents said they want their sense of safety restored and the robbers caught.

"It seems surreal. It didn't seem like something that would happen in the neighborhood," Dholakia said. "Especially with kids and families, you think that the home is the most safe place, and something like this happens. Now, you're interested in getting a dog or a security system or something even bigger."

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Cary Police Department at 919-469-4012 or Cary Crime Stoppers at 919-460-4636.