A chase that started in Chapel Hill ended in Durham Tuesday afternoon with three teens linked to a series of car break-ins.
Chapel Hill police alerted Durham police and the State Highway Patrol as they pursued a car full of suspects on Martin Luther King Boulevard and Interstate 40 just before noon on Tuesday. Durham police stopped that car in the area of Wayne Circle off East Weaver Street and four people ran from the scene.
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State Highway Patrol searched from the air and Durham Police searched on foot for about 30 minutes before taking three of those people into custody. The suspects' names were not released because they are juveniles, ages 14, 15 and 16.
A fourth was still at large.
Chapel Hill police said they gave chase after linking the people to car break-ins Tuesday morning on East Franklin Street, Estes Drive, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Weaver Dairy Road. A Flock camera on private property played a role in locating the suspect vehicle, a town spokesman told WRAL News.
"Our police department has access to local Flock system data strictly for criminal investigative purposes such as this one," he said.
There have been 320 reports of vehicle break-ins in Chapel Hill so far in 2026, including last Saturday afternoon in the parking lot of Planet Fitness at 257 S. Elliott Road and early Sunday morning along Fordham Boulevard, including in the parking lots of three hotels.
“Vehicle break-ins like these happen incredibly fast, often in a matter of seconds,” said Police Chief Celisa Lehew. “We're seeing the same pattern in many communities across the Triangle and the country.
“Please call 911 if you witness, discover, or have other information about a vehicle break-in, so that we can quickly respond.”