North Raleigh residents 'relieved' suspect was arrested in Peeping Tom case

Andrew Brett Robertson, 35, of Trescott Court in Raleigh, has been charged with peeping into an occupied room in a home on Wescott Drive, in the Falls River neighborhood.

Melissa Whitley, who lives a few houses down from where the incident occurred, said she was concerned about the safety of her family.

“We have been very nervous ever since because we have so many woods back here and we have kids that live here so it’s very scary to have someone peeping in your house,” she said.

Whitley said her family changed their nightly routines in wake of the incident.

Wake County Sheriff's Maj. Scott Ikerd said Robertson turned himself in Tuesday morning before being released on a $2,000 bond. He has no criminal record to speak of other than traffic offense.

The most recent incident happened July 6, according to records.

Last week, residents of the neighborhood said a man snuck into the backyard of a home and looked into windows and masturbated.

“It’s just very odd behavior, not something we normally see’” Ikerd said. “It’s not everyday somebody comes up on your back porch in the middle of the night and watches somebody.”

Residents said he was caught on video surveillance exposing himself behind a home in the neighborhood.

Eric Curry, spokesman for the Wake County Sheriff's Office, said last week that there hadn’t been any similar reports of Peeping Toms in the area.

Robertson was an accomplished poker player and people who played with him said they were shocked by the arrest. Robertson won the World Tavern Poker Championship in 2018.

Josh Bardwell, who played poker with Robertson for two years, said he knew Robertson was the suspect immediately after a photo of him surfaced on the internet.

“I felt like I needed to say something, so I immediately reported it,” Bardwell said.

Bardwell said Robertson was “a great guy” and “never caused problems,” which is why many people were shocked by his arrest.

He doubts Robertson will be welcomed back to the poker league.

“That could have been my wife, someone else I could have known, their mother, their daughter,” Bardwell said.

Robertson is known to always be carrying a tablet around with him and playing online poker, according to an acquaintance who did not want to be identified.

He bonded out of jail Tuesday and is due to make a court appearance on August 13.

Officials said they do not think Robertson is connected to any other similar cases in the area, but they will continue to keep a close eye on him.