Crime Correspondent: Durham County jail

Mark Travers

Mark Travers is charged with killing Alejandro Silva Abraham, 30, on Oct. 21. Abraham, a carpenter supporting a family of five in Mexico, had stepped outside a friend's apartment to make a phone call when he was shot. Police think the shooting, which is still under investigation, was in connection with a robbery. Travers is also charged with an attempted armed robbery minutes before the killing. A man at an adjacent building told police someone patted him down after a gun was pressed against his back. Nothing was taken. The victim told police the would-be robber then ran toward the building where Abraham was killed.His mother said Wednesday she has tried to get him help for his drug use but because of his age couldn't force him to do anything. She thinks drugs caused his troubles. "He wasn't even admitting that he had a problem, but the things he was doing was showing he had a problem," she said. Travers was already in the Durham County jail, accused of breaking into homes, when detectives charged him Tuesday. Sheriff's investigators think he, along with three others, broke into six homes in northern Durham County between October and December. He was caught in late December after a break-in during which a shot was fired at a homeowner. Travers, who also has assault charges pending, has convictions for larceny, eluding arrest, weapons possession, and breaking and entering.

Mark Travers

Mark Travers is charged with killing Alejandro Silva Abraham, 30, on Oct. 21. Abraham, a carpenter supporting a family of five in Mexico, ha...