Surveillance cameras at Dos Taquitos on Glenwood Avenue captured two people crawling through the restaurant's back door around 1 a.m. Friday, making off with the business's safe before anyone noticed. Raleigh police are now searching for the pair responsible for the break-in at the longtime Mexican restaurant.
According to WRAL, the two suspects entered the building overnight, took the safe, and left the same way they came in, through the back door. Raleigh police have asked anyone with information to contact investigators or submit an anonymous tip. Dos Taquitos has operated on Glenwood Avenue for years after relocating from Creedmoor Road, and it remains one of the city's oldest Mexican restaurants, founded in 1991 by Carlos Salamanca and now run by his daughter, Pamela Salamanca, according to WALTER Magazine.
The restaurant's owner told WRAL that a nearby business was robbed in a similar way last month, raising questions about whether the two incidents are connected. Police have not confirmed any link between the cases, and it remains unclear whether investigators are treating the break-ins as part of a broader pattern along the Glenwood Avenue corridor.
What Suspects Could Face If Caught
Under North Carolina law, breaking into a business with intent to commit theft is a Class H felony carrying up to 39 months in prison, per Manning Law Firm. Removing or cracking open a safe is treated as a separate offense altogether. Safecracking is classified as a Class I felony punishable by up to two years in prison, according to Nielsen Legal, meaning whoever stole the Dos Taquitos safe could ultimately face charges on both fronts if identified and caught.
Raleigh police have leaned on business security footage before to crack similar cases. The department's Connect Raleigh initiative encourages business owners to register or share camera feeds with law enforcement, a tool that has helped detectives identify suspects and trace getaway routes in other property crimes across the city. Investigators along Wake County's commercial corridors have also used FLOCK automated license-plate readers to track vehicles fleeing crime scenes, though it is not known whether such technology has been applied to this case.
Part of a Broader Downward Trend
The break-in comes even as commercial burglaries have been falling across Raleigh this year. City crime data showed a 26% drop in commercial burglaries during the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year, and a steeper 37% decline in the second quarter. Statewide, property crime fell 11.9% during the first half of 2026 compared with the same stretch in 2025, according to a North Carolina Department of Public Safety report cited by the Carolina Journal.
Still, the theft echoes other recent commercial crimes in Raleigh. In June, an overnight robbery at a Walgreens on Capital Boulevard was also caught on surveillance video, prompting police to appeal for store footage and public tips. That same month, a robbery at a PNC Bank branch on Capital Boulevard triggered a citywide police search, underscoring how commercial heists continue to draw significant law enforcement resources even as overall numbers trend downward.
How to Help the Investigation
Anyone with information about the Dos Taquitos break-in is urged to contact Raleigh police or submit a tip through Raleigh CrimeStoppers, which offers cash rewards for information leading to arrests and allows tipsters to remain anonymous. No arrests had been announced as of Friday, and it remains unclear whether police have obtained footage from other businesses along Glenwood Avenue or identified a vehicle used by the suspects.
