Fayetteville restaurant owners charged in 18 restaurant burglaries in Wake County
A married Fayetteville couple who own a vegan restaurant here are jailed in Wake County on allegations they burglarized more than a dozen businesses late last year in Apex, Raleigh, Wake Forest, Cary and Morrisville.
Yoniara Montoya Locklear, 45, and Robert Nicholas Harris, 36, are accused of stealing or conspiring to steal thousands of dollars from restaurants, bars, a car dealership and a Target in a series of break-ins Oct. 11, Oct. 23, Nov. 3-6, Nov. 13 and Nov. 19-20.
According to court records, the businesses hit by location were:
In Wake Forest • Don Julio Mexican Restaurant • Los Tres Magueyes • Target • Tlaquepaque Mexican Restaurant • Pat Murnane's Irish Pub
In Raleigh • Capital Ford • La Tapatia Super Market • Alpaca Peruvian Charcoal Chicken
In Apex • Mamcita Modern Mexican & Cocktails • Barwarchi Grill & Spirits
In Cary • Gonza Tacos y Tequila • Totopos Mexican Restaurant • The Cary Pub • Frida's Patio Mexican Restaurant • Brothers of NY Pizza • La Cocina Mexican Restaurant
In Morrisville • Mi Cancun • Full Moon Oyster Bar
The arrest reports indicate that the bandits entered by breaking through glass doors and taking money from the cash registers and sometimes stealing the safes containing thousands of dollars. In one heist, $17,000 was taken and in several others, more than $5,000 was reported stolen.
In a few of the burglaries, the safes were emptied after being broken open inside the businesses, the records state.
At least one arrest report for Harris alleges he opened a safe by “use of a master key obtained in an unauthorized manner."
In addition to the rash of Wake County burglaries, Harris is also charged with several probation violations in Cumberland County for burglary, robbery and safecracking convictions here in 2018.
Locklear and Harris own the Vegan Spot restaurant and a food truck by the same name in Fayetteville.
During a first appearance in court on Thursday, Locklear was assigned a court-appointed attorney. The court record indicates Harris waived his right to a court-appointed attorney, suggesting he intends to hire an attorney.
Harris, who is charged with 40 counts, is being held without bail in the Wake County jail. Bail for Locklear, who is charged with nine counts, is set at a total of $170,000.
F.T. Norton can be reached at fnorton@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville restaurant owners arrested in Wake County burglaries
