'I am very concerned:' Armed burglars caught on camera in north Raleigh crime spree

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- With the security camera app on his phone, Michael Colantuoni showed the moments the north Raleigh crime spree came right through his garage.

"There he is just walking right out," Colantuoni says pointing to his screen. "They're coming right from that garage door. The third one was open."

Colantuoni's home became one of what neighbors in The Registry and Tadlock subdivisions say were at least 10 break-ins during the past weekend.

The video shows two men brazenly walking down the driveway after using a garage remote taken from an unlocked car to gain entry to the home.

"The police said (the burglars) are looking for weapons and they are looking for cash, "Colantuoni said. "People are concerned. I am very concerned."

What's more frightening -- one of the men is clearly armed with what appears to be a rifle in his hand, which can later be seen strapped across his back.

"That's a lot more than a pistol," Colantuoni said. "They were free to open up all the cabinets. They searched the cars, leaving fingerprints all over the cars and windows. And at that point, we called the sheriff."

Homes in this typically quiet section of Wake County are valued as high as $3 million. The neighborhood has been buzzing about the burglaries on the Nextdoor app. One woman posted that the sheriff told her that the thieves have been terrorizing the area for the past four weeks; hitting several neighborhoods.

Another person reported another hit in a separate neighborhood last Thursday. Dispatchers told him they had received 30 calls about break-ins within a five-mile radius. No one has been injured.

Back at the Colantuonis, the thieves got away with cash and the family's pickup. Police found the truck later near PNC Arena.

Feeling violated, Colantuoni and the rest of the neighborhood are taking new cautions.

"Be diligent. Be careful. Do not approach these people. They are armed and dangerous. Be safe," he warned.

Part of that new diligence is no longer leaving keys in cars, and locking doors they may have previously left unlocked.

Investigators at the Wake County Sheriff's Office are not saying much publicly about the burglaries. WCSO only confirms deputies are looking for the burglar(s) and presumably trying to determine whether the crimes are connected.