Suspect arrested in Knightdale home invasions

Trice was being held at Wake County Jail under a $1.2 million bond. He was arrested on Thursday.

The charges stem from three home invasions in the past three weeks. All of the victims lived within blocks of each other, as did the the suspect's girlfriend. They all resided in or near the Amber Acres North subdivision.

Around 2 a.m. on June 26,  Melanie Howell, 61, and her 70-year-old husband, Willard, were awakened by the sound of shattered glass. A man was breaking through the back door of their home on Seward Drive in the Amber Ridge subdivision.

"He went in the living room and asked us, 'Where's your money?'" Howell said. She said the suspect left with some cash and shoved her as he ran out.

"I wound up on the floor," Howell said.

On June 12, Trice is accused of breaking into a home on Ballston Place on June 12 between 1 and 2 a.m. Tracey Perry said she came face-to-face with the intruder. She said the suspect busted down her back door and demanded money. The man had a knife, but Perry said she fought back against him.

Perry said she recognized the suspect as the man she had paid twice to mow her lawn.

Trice's girlfriend, who asked not to be identified, lives down the street from Perry. She told WRAL News that Trice cut grass to make money. The two have been dating for three months, she said.

Trice is accused of breaking into a second home on June 12. Around 10:30 a.m., police said Trice broke into a home on Amber Acres Lane and stabbed a woman in the arm.

Trice's criminal record includes convictions for rape and larceny.