CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers responded to a burglary at a First Ward townhouse Friday, the suspects returned to the home to try to break in again because they didn’t know the officers were still inside.
A man returned to his townhouse on Garden District Drive around 7 p.m. to find that several men had broken into his home and were still there. The burglars didn’t notice the homeowner, so he left the house and called 911.
When officers responded, they arrested Johnny Penny, 33, and Javonte Cathcart, 24. While they were investigating, three other people who were involved in the original burglary, Malik Long, 22, Khalil Wallace, 18, and Jamaka Culbreath, 16, came back to the house around 9 p.m.
When they saw the officers inside, they took off, but officers caught and arrested all three.
Officers charged Penny, Cathcart, Long and Wallace with felony breaking and entering. Penny and Wallace were also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Culbreath was charged with possession of stolen goods.
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