Fayetteville police make arrest in series of home invasions

Curtis Perry King, 43, of the 1600 block of Tryon Drive, is charged with first-degree burglary, two counts of breaking and entering, three counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of larceny of a motor vehicle, and two counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

Patricia Martin, 71, said she walked into her kitchen before 8 a.m. Tuesday to find a man asking for water and demanding money and her car keys.

"He pushed me into the bedroom, then he pushed me into the wall, and he was choking me until I couldn't breathe," Martin said. "He had choked me, and had me up against the wall in the bedroom, and he told me to sit on the floor, and that's when he was taking everything."

The man ransacked her house, taking $800, some jewelry and a .357 Magnum.

"Then he told me stand up, and he put the .357 Magnum to my back. I could feel it, and that's when I really got scared," she said. "Time was frozen still."

He forced her into the laundry room, where he wrapped duct tape around her hands and feet.

"I begged him not to hurt me or kill me. I said, 'I'm 71. Please don't hurt me,'" she said.

The man left in her gray 2015 Chrysler 200 sedan.

Martin said police found cigarettes in the RV parked in her driveway, leading her to believe he slept there overnight before kicking in her door and robbing her.

"He could have easily killed me," she said.

Two other home invasions were reported Monday night.

Officers responded to the 400 block of McPhee Drive at about 4 p.m., where a 50-year-old man said he returned home to find a man inside his house brandishing the homeowner's .380-caliber handgun. The intruder also took the man's cellphone and wallet before fleeing in the man's 2011 Ford Fusion. Police said the car was found abandoned about seven hours later in the 6000 block of Yadkin Road.

Another home invasion was reported at about 10:30 p.m. in the 122 block of Durden Lane. A 69-year-old man told police that he was cleaning his shotgun when he heard someone trying to break in, but the intruder grabbed the gun from him and forced the man to give up his cellphone and other valuables.