Two men suspected in multiple crimes committed in Orange, Person and Durham Counties were apprehended Monday after Sheriffs’ Deputies worked tirelessly throughout the weekend. Early Friday morning in Person County, a woman reported being awoken in her home by two men, one who pointed a gun at her, demanding guns and money. During the home invasion, the woman was sexually assaulted and struck in the face with the gun. The victim’s young child was present in the home at the time of the assaults but was not injured.
While Person County authorities investigated that matter, a second home invasion was reported in Orange County where a Chapel Hill couple was brutally beaten by two men. The husband-victim also sustained a gunshot wound to the hand. Person County Sheriff Dewey Jones commented, “Investigators from both agencies began talking, comparing the similarities between the home invasions. A break in the case came Saturday when a security camera near Northgate Mall in Durham recorded the suspects using a credit card stolen from the victim of the Person County home invasion.”
From that footage, Person County Sheriff’s Deputies were able to identify and arrest Jason O’Neal Brown, 36, and Jodeci Mustaffa Gaddy, 25, both of Durham. Orange County Investigators traveled to interview the suspects and obtained a full confession to both home invasions and countless car break-ins committed in Orange and Person Counties and in the Town of Hillsborough. During the course of the investigation, an instrumental tip was provided to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office by a member of the community who reported having seen a distinctive vehicle parked on the street where the first home invasion occurred during the relevant time period. Orange County Deputies and Investigators were familiar with the vehicle, which was sighted in an area of car break-ins reported earlier in the month. When Brown and Gaddy were arrested, the same vehicle was nearby and was seized by Investigators for processing.
Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood praised the dogged determination of and the positive working relationships between the Orange County, Person and Durham County Sheriffs’ Offices, the Roxboro and Durham Police Departments, and the State Bureau of Investigation to accomplish this result. “These home invasions are like something we have never seen before,” Sheriff Blackwood said. “The completely random nature of the crimes and violence used to effectuate them are sobering reminders of the importance of employing the simple tools available to safeguard your family, such as ensuring windows are secure, doors are locked, and home security systems, if present in the home, are activated. These very suspects told Investigators that they target unlocked homes and vehicles, which allow fast and easy access.”
After the arrests, search warrants were obtained for the suspects’ residences. The amount of stolen property recovered from the homes required the use of a van and a large SUV to transport it to the Person County Sheriff’s Office. In the coming days, the property will be reviewed against larceny reports from the various jurisdictions with the hope of returning it to the affected victims and seeking charges in those cases.
Brown and Gaddy are being held in the Person County Detention Center under a $2 million secured bond. Orange County Investigators charged Brown and Gaddy with two counts of Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury, two counts of 2nd Degree Kidnapping, 1st Degree Burglary, two counts of Assault by Pointing a Gun and Breaking and Entering a Motor Vehicle. Additional charges are pending. Person County charges include 1st Degree Kidnapping, 1st Degree Burglary, 1st Degree Forcible Sex Offense, Attempted 1st Degree Rape, Attempted 1st Degree Murder, Larceny, and Breaking and Entering a Motor Vehicle.
“These arrests go a long way in bringing back the sense of security in the communities, which were rocked to their core by these home invasions,” said Chief Deputy Jamison Sykes.
The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information related to these matters should contact Investigator Jeff Ray at 919.245.2975.