Crabtree Mall Carjacker Who Crashed City Truck Sentenced to 20 Years

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Garner man was sentenced today to 240 months in prison for robbery of a Raleigh Walmart store and the carjacking of a woman at Crabtree Valley Mall.  On April 8, 2024, Thomas Kyle Cauther pleaded guilty to both charges.

“This defendant was a one-man crime spree threatening a store clerk, crashing a city truck, and dragging a woman across a shopping center parking lot in a carjacking,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Cauther’s spree caused unspeakable trauma to victims and wrecked a city street sweeper. Today it is Cauther whose been swept off the streets – for the next 20 years. Hopefully today’s sentence brings some peace or closure to the victims and community We are partnering with the City of Raleigh to ensure brazen threats to public safety, like Cauther are put on a fast track to federal prison.

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on May 11, 2023, Cauther, age 31, used a tool to smash a glass display case in the electronics section of the Walmart store on Fayetteville Road in Raleigh. Cauther retrieved two iPhones from the smashed display. When confronted by a Walmart employee, Cauther displayed a knife and threatened to harm her. Cauther then rode a bicycle out of the Walmart with the stolen iPhones in hand.

After leaving the Walmart, Cauther traveled to the area of Ramsgate Street and Lineberry Drive in Raleigh, where he stole a City of Raleigh truck with a trailer and street sweeper attached. Cauther eventually wrecked the truck and trailer in the parking deck area of Crabtree Valley Mall.

Once the City of Raleigh truck was disabled, Cauther approached a woman who was sitting in a vehicle in the Crabtree Valley Mall parking lot. He opened her car door and removed her from the vehicle. Cauther then got into the vehicle and began to drive away while the carjacking victim was still entangled in the vehicle, causing her to be drug by the vehicle as Cauther drove away. Raleigh Police engaged in a pursuit of the carjacked vehicle. Eventually, the vehicle was remotely disabled by OnStar system operators and Cauther was apprehended. The carjacking victim was hospitalized after sustaining multiple broken bones.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Raleigh Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Nokes  prosecuted the case.

The conviction is a result of the ongoing Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP) initiative which is collaborative effort with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, working with the community, to identify and address the most significant drivers of violent crime. VCAP involves focused and strategic enforcement, and interagency coordination and intelligence-led policing.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-CR-23.