Latinos targeted in string of Durham robberies

Police said they are searching for two men and three women in a weekend robbery spree in Durham that targeted Latinos.

The string of holdups started in the 2900 block of Chapel Hill Road on Friday night. That was followed by robberies in the 1300 block of Morreene Road and 4200 block of Garrett Road. On Saturday, another robbery was reported in the 2200 block of Morehead Avenue.

Two men dressed in black pulled off the three Friday night robberies, while three women with guns forced a man into his apartment and robbed him in the Saturday case, police said.

"Unfortunately, this is not the first time we've seen something like this happen," said Eliazar Posada, interim chief executive of El Centro Hispano.

Ros Ajuilar, who lives and owns a business in one of the targeted areas, is scared. A business on one side of her store was robbed twice within two weeks, while someone was robbed three weeks ago on the other side of her store.

"They robbed the other store in the back while we were here," Ajuilar, who doesn't speak English, said through her daughter.

Durham police have increased patrols near apartments, homes and businesses in the neighborhoods where the robberies occurred.

“Not everything can be solved by just putting another neighborhood on a patrol list,” Posada said

A lack of trust in law enforcement among Latinos factors into them being targeted for crime. he said.

“Many don't have, or used to not have, full access to banks. So, you would see folks wandering around with large sums of money,” he said.

“The assumption is that Hispanics are mainly immigrants, so they're scared to go to police. It’s a shame," said Jonny Salas, a barber who lives in Durham. "From what I’ve heard ... people are starting to deal with it on their own."

Anyone with information about any of the robberies is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 919-683-1200.