2 charged in connection with state car vandalism, gas card thefts
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Two people were arrested Wednesday by State Capitol police and there are warrants out on a third suspect in connection with the vandalism of 65 state cars and the theft of 23 gas credit cards stolen in September and October.
Rodney Jermaine Wilson, 36, and his two sons, 18-year-old Rodney Jermaine Wilson Jr. and 17-year-old Dantwan Kayshawn Bridges, are charged with 97 felonies, including breaking and entering vehicles; financial card thefts and burning of personal property.
The teens were arrested Wednesday. At last report, State Capitol police and the Raleigh Police Department were still searching for their father.
Car windows were smashed and gas credit cards taken from glove boxes or center consoles of the state cars either overnight or on weekends over the course of several weeks.
Most of the vandalism and thefts occurred at seven Department of Public Safety locations in Wake County. The gas credit cards were used at more than a dozen locations across the center part of the state, from Dunn to Burlington.
"The arrests thus far and the warrants for the third suspect show the level of collaboration and investigative skills displayed by the law enforcement professionals who have been working on this case since early last fall," said Frank L. Perry, secretary of the Department of Public Safety. "The arrests of these two individuals show the lengths that DPS and its partnering agencies will go to ensure that the perpetrators of theft and vandalism against state property are brought to justice."
The total loss from damaged state cars and illegal use of the gas cards was almost $36,000.
More charges are possible against all three suspects.
Sgt. Ronald McCoy with the Capitol Police Department told ABC11 that the state has now changed the policy for storing gas cards inside state-owned vehicles.
