RALEIGH - An ex-girlfriend’s tip led to the arrest last week of a Durham man accused of stealing jewelry and other valuables from homes in Cary and Apex during real estate open house events.

Peter Schieffelin Nyberg, 47, of Montrose Drive in Durham was arrested Thursday and charged with five counts of felony larceny. Apex police think Nyberg is responsible for jewelry thefts Feb. 11, 12 and 17 at open houses in the Scotts Mill and Walden Creek subdivisions, while Cary police have charged him with thefts at two open houses Feb. 27.

After the Apex thefts, two real estate agents told police they did not see anyone take the jewelry, but they both described a man who arrived at the beginning of the open house events, quickly walked around, “but did not seem to be interested in the property,” according to a search warrant made public Monday at the Wake County Clerk of Courts Office.

Apex detectives contacted two other agents who held open houses the weekend of Feb. 2. They described a white man in his 30s or 40s who signed in to the events as “James Richardson” or “Stephen Jobes,” according to the warrant. The agents told the police that the man was driving a gray or silver sedan.

The N.C. Realtors Association sent out an email alert about the thefts, along with a physical description of the suspected thief and the vehicle he was driving, court records show. Police then received a call from a woman who told them she was Nyberg’s ex-girlfriend and that she suspected him of the open house thefts, according to the warrant.

The woman told police that one of the names the suspect used, “James Richardson,” is the name of an employee who worked for Nyberg for several years, and that Nyberg matched the suspect’s physical description and that he drove a gray Nissan Altima. The woman also mentioned to police that Nyberg had stolen jewelry from her and a neighbor in the past, according to the warrant.

Nyberg admitted nothing, but police saw him trying to destroy a piece of paper while alone in the interrogation room, according to the warrant. The paper was a card from Jared’s Galleria, noting an appointment set for a jewelry appraisal. Apex detective Josh MacMonagle went to Jared’s and found that Nyberg had visited the store Feb. 28 and Thursday to have jewelry appraised, including a Rolex watch at $3,500. The watch had been stolen from one of the open house events, according to the warrant.

A search of Nyberg’s home and his 2005 Nissan Altima turned up a Jared’s receipt and the Rolex watch along with four boxes that contained gold and diamond jewelry, court records show.

Nyberg remained in custody Monday at the Wake County jail in lieu of $75,000 bail. He faces up to 25 months in prison if convicted, according to Cary police.