Raid on Wendell home led to arrest in Cary home invasion
WENDELL (WTVD) -- ABC11 has learned that the only man currently charged with being inside a Cary home during a middle-of-the-night armed robbery was arrested during a raid on a home in Wendell.
Neighbors in Wendell's Northwinds subdivision say the raid in the 700 block of Old Zebulon Road began about nine hours after the 2 a.m. home invasion more than 40 miles away in west Cary's Verzino neighborhood on June 16.
"The whole entire street was full of cops. I mean they came -- sheriffs, detectives, the SWAT team came too," across-the-street neighbor Angel Ortiz said.
Ortiz lives with his girlfriend, Kim Peetz, and her grandchildren.
"I was scared to death. I didn't know what was going; it was all day long over here, you know," Peetz said. "So I was scared."
Peetz and Ortiz said that after an hours-long standoff, 23-year old John Battle was finally handcuffed by police.
WATCH: 3 CHARGED IN CARY HOME INVASION ROBBERY
According to Cary Police, Battle, of Durham, is the only suspect charged so far as one of the five men in the Cary home during the invasion.
Two others were charged during the weekend in connection with the home invasion.
Justin Atwater, 16, of Durham was charged as an accessory after the fact.
So was Tycorey Taborn.
But Taborn, 25, whose address is listed as the house that was raided in Wendell, was also charged with the armed robbery of a Cary convenience store along with Battle less than 24 hours before the home invasion.
ORIGINAL STORY: CARY POLICE INVESTIGATING HOME INVASION ROBBERY
On Thursday, Cary police tacked on more charges for Taborn - possession of goods stolen from the Cary home and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Atwater also had new charges added for possession of goods stolen during the home invasion and for helping Battle and Taborn hide a gun in the attic of the house in Wendell.
That gun is similar to an assault-style rifle used in the home invasion according to Cary police.
Police have also now charged two more suspects with taking part in other armed robberies with Battle.
Both Tyquan Ansley, 18, of Durham and Adrian Anderson, 21, also of Durham are charged with helping Battle rob the Kangaroo Express on Harrison Avenue near I-40 in May.
Anderson is also charged with helping Battle in the armed robbery of the Quality Mart on Chapel Hill Road on I-40 early on the morning of June 15.
Before the raid in Wendell, Ortiz and Peetz said they had seen news of the Cary home invasion on ABC11, but it wasn't until after the raid that police told them about the connection.
"We actually saw that on the news but we never knew, imagined that we have these guys right here next door," Ortiz said.
Peetz added, "I couldn't believe it. I couldn't, I was in shock that people that had done that were living right across the street from us."
READ MORE: SUV STOLEN IN CARY HOME INVASION FOUND BURNING IN DURHAM
Both say they were shocked by the home invasion in which the family was robbed at gunpoint in the middle of the night and the father was kidnapped, taken to an ATM and forced to withdraw money.
That part of the crime was captured by a bank surveillance picture that police say shows Battle driving the victim's SUV and wearing a ski mask and latex gloves.
"It must have been the worst thing that ever happened to them," Peetz told ABC11.
Ortiz said, "I imagine they were probably terrified, probably doing their last prayer, you know. Thank God nothing happened to them."
Police have said five men were inside the Cary home during the armed robbery.
But so far only Battle has been identified as one of them.
It's not clear whether some who are now charged in connection with that crime or the convenience store armed robberies will eventually be charged in the home invasion or if other suspects are still on the streets.
