Two 18-year-olds were charged Thursday in connection with a home break-in that authorities suspect is among many in recent weeks tied to a burglary spree in and near the Twin Cities.

Davion M. Allyn, of Coon Rapids, and Brendan A. Durant, of Maple Grove, were charged in Wright County District Court with felony burglary, and misdemeanors for fleeing police and receiving stolen property. Both had court appearances scheduled Thursday and remain jailed.

The two are suspected of fueling an especially busy burglary spree that has hit many communities, with the perpetrators working in small groups and getting into homes by using the garage door opener left in unlocked vehicles.

Allyn and Durant were arrested early Monday in connection with a residential break-in in Otsego. Before their apprehension, the Wright County Sheriff's Office said it had received 20 calls about stolen vehicles, thefts from vehicles and residential burglaries believed to have been carried out by the two and others.

Police in nearby Big Lake said early this month that its residents have been targeted by what they called "a very sophisticated ring" of burglars who have also struck in Monticello, Buffalo and Plymouth. They use stolen vehicles to get around and commit more crimes, Big Lake police added. Police in Bloomington and Maple Grove also are looking into recent burglaries with similar characteristics.

According to the charges in the Otsego burglary:

A resident of a home in the 17600 block of 54th Street NE. told deputies that she confronted the suspects, who ordered her to mind her own business before they fled.

The homeowners reported there was $300 in cash and a $6,000 cashier's check missing.

A deputy heading to the home saw the two men on stolen bicycles at a nearby intersection. Both suspects were soon caught with the help of a police dog.

Investigators also suspect the two stole items from four vehicles in the area and took a television and golf clubs from another home nearby.

In north Minneapolis about 5 hours before Allyn and Durant were arrested, officers arrested a 16-year-old who tried to elude capture in a minivan reported stolen out of Howard Lake in Wright County, police said. "It is our working hypothesis at this time" that the boy is among the burglars causing havoc in Wright County and elsewhere, said Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482