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Wisler followed the case and was in court in July 2006 when Lovette was found guilty of breaking into her home and other crimes. Lovette was sentenced to C.A. Dillon Training School in Butner for burglary and other felonies, according to Wisler and the department employee.

Because Lovette's crimes were serious, the Department of Juvenile Justice could have kept Lovette locked up until he turned 19, in 2009. The department released Lovette from Dillon on Sept. 17, 2007, according to the department employee.

State law requires juvenile court counselors and Dillon employees to come up with a detailed plan for parole, known as "post-release supervision." Zogry, the juvenile defender, said oversight is stricter in the juvenile system than with adult offenders.

'Not kiddie court'

"It is not kiddie court," he said. "The sanctions and control are very strong over the juvenile and family, more so than adult court."

The law requires a minimum parole supervision of 90 days; it can last a year.

Lovette soon got back into trouble: less than two months later, Nov. 7, police found his fingerprint at a burgled home on the Hope Valley golf course.

The events echoed the break-ins at Wisler's home in 2006: A couple reported that a purse, wallet and car keys were stolen from their home while they slept. Durham police told the woman Lovette had a serious juvenile record and recommended changing their house and car locks. The woman asked not to be named because her house has been burglarized five times in the past year.

Police arrested Lovette at his home Nov. 13. He was held in Durham County jail on $20,000 bail. He stayed there until Jan. 16.

The police incident report labeled the crime as burglary, considered a violent crime because it involves breaking into an occupied home at night. Burglary sentences for a first-time offender range from 51 to 64 months.

However, Lovette was charged with felony breaking and entering, a lesser crime that doesn't require prison time. The court file showed that Lovette was on juvenile parole; the paperwork from his first court appearance says "Juv. Post Release" in the section where probation or parole is noted.

Saacks said he is investigating whether burglary charges should have been filed.

Judge: I didn't know

After two months in jail, Lovette pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts and was released. District Court Judge Ann McKown said she did not know about Lovette's lengthy record or that he was on juvenile parole when she released him on adult probation.

"Absolutely not," McKown said.

Two days later, on Jan. 18, Abhijit Mahato was killed in his Durham apartment.

On Jan. 23, Lovette returned to juvenile court. He had violated his parole with the Hope Valley break-in, and the judge could have sent him back to youth prison until he was 19.

That didn't happen: Lovette left court that day, free of the juvenile court system.

Timothy Blanch, a Durham lawyer, represented Lovette at the hearing but declined to discuss details of what occurred. District Court Judge William Marsh III presided in juvenile court that week; Marsh did not return phone calls and a message left at his office.

Saacks said he thought his office argued to revoke Lovette's juvenile parole and send him back to lockup. He referred questions to his juvenile prosecutor, Fungai Bennett, who declined to answer questions Thursday until she determined whether state law permitted her to discuss the case.

On Feb. 2, Lovette was arrested on charges of possessing a stolen car. He posted a $2,500 bail that day and was released.

That car had been stolen during a Jan. 29 burglary in southwest Durham. Police arrested Lovette again Feb. 4 and charged him with burglary and stealing the car.

Magistrate Donald Paschall set bail for Lovette at $10,000, though Durham's guidelines suggested $35,000 at the time. (Suggested bail is now $250,000 under new guidelines issued in March.) Lovette obtained bail through a bondsman and was released the same day.

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