Suspect arrested in Cary grab-and-go thefts

Police said Thursday that numerous tips from residents who saw the video, which was released to the media, led to the arrest.

Joshua Daniels Jacobs, 28, of Cheswick Place in Cary, is charged with two counts of misdemeanor larceny. He was released on an $800 bond from the Wake County Public Safety Center.

“The speedy arrest of this smooth criminal was only possible because of the tips we received from our community,” Cary police Capt. Don Hamilton said in a statement. “We’re thankful for this relationship as we all work together to keep Cary one of the safest places to live, work and raise a family.”

Police did not elaborate on how Jacobs was identified as the suspect, but Hamilton said he confessed to the crime.

Court records show he was charged in 2003 with misdemeanor larceny and in 2004 with possession of drug paraphernalia.

Officers responded to a robbery July 26 at Walgreens on Kildaire Farm Road, then got a call about an hour later for another robbery at an Exxon on Walnut Street.

Security video from the Exxon showed a man – dressed in cargo shorts, a dark polo shirt, sunglasses and socks with sandals – walk into the store, calmly glance around, lean over the counter, pop open the cash register and swipe bills before walking out unnoticed.

Exxon employee Bobby Fann said he left the register unattended when he went in the back to work on a car.

"He walked in (and) just in case somebody walked through the door, he had his wallet ready. He leaned over and inched over to the cash register and just took everything out," Fann said. "Nobody saw him come in. Nobody saw him leave. He was just like a ghost."

The cash grab took less than 30 seconds.

In both cases, witnesses told police the grab-and-go thief left in a white car believed to be a Chevrolet HHR. No one was hurt.