Man charged in 2013 Cary culvert fire now charged with breaking into cars

A man once charged in connection with a fire that caused nearly $500,000 in damage to a major Cary roadway was arrested over the weekend on drug charges.

Posted 3:18 p.m. Aug 25, 2015 — Updated 8:37 p.m. Aug 28, 2015

CARY, N.C. — A man charged two years ago with setting a fire that caused nearly $500,000 in damage to a major Cary roadway has been arrested three times in recent weeks in connection with vehicle break-ins.

Tristan Matthew Zammit, 19, of 101 Sweetspire Way in Cary, was charged Monday with breaking and entering a motor vehicle, larceny after breaking and entering and possession of a firearm by a felon. He also was charged with breaking and entering a motor vehicle on Wednesday and in a July 15 case.

In 2013, Cary police arrested Zammit, then 17, in connection with a culvert fire beneath part of Cary Parkway, which was closed for three weeks as a result.

Wake County prosecutors later dismissed the charge as part of an effort by the state to recoup the $482,120 spent to repair the culvert and repave the road.

In February, Raleigh police stopped Zammit while driving into oncoming traffic on Western Boulevard and arrested him after finding drugs in a backpack in his car.

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