“We had a weapon reported stolen in 2012. Through further investigation I was able to identify a subject. Thanks LeadsOnline.”
Lt. William Hooks
Ft. Stewart Police Department
Georgia
Author Archives: LeadsOnline
Another firearm recovered and returned with NCIC, LeadsOnline, and Portland Police
“We received an NCIC hit on a rifle sold in a neighboring city. I checked the rifle and was able to positively identify it as the stolen one which was reported in 2013 after being taken from a vehicle. The rifle was recovered and returned to the owner. After interviewing the person who had sold the rifle it was found that he had purchased the gun several years ago at a gun show.”
Det. Travis Wiesman
Portland Police Department
Texas
Distance won’t keep this Portland detective and LeadsOnline from recovering property
“We received an NCIC hit on a shotgun which was stolen in 2013 from a vehicle. The shotgun was sold in San Antonio which is a little more than two hours away from our city. The San Antonio Police Department recovered the shotgun and sent it to us. I was then able to return the shotgun which was still in the original soft case to the owner who was very happy to receive his property back.”
Det. Travis Wiesman
Portland Police Department
Texas
“There had been several thefts reported in a local subdivision. The items stolen included tools, guns and some mowers. The victims did not have serial numbers on most of the stolen items. By looking up just the name brands of the stolen items in LeadsOnline, we were able to match larceny dates with similar type name brands and items being sold. The suspect was put under surveillance, was arrested and confessed to several of the thefts in the area. Victims were able to go to the businesses and identify their stolen tools. Thanks LeadsOnline!”
Inv. Melanie Bibens
Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office
Virginia
LeadsOnline’s partnership with NCIC once again helps close a case
“While I was using LeadsOnline, I was able to match an NCIC hit of property taken in one of our residential burglaries. The hit gave us enough information to be able to tie the property stolen in the burglary, specifically a 22 cal. handgun, to a listed and named suspect. The LeadsOnline system seems to be a very good tool.”
Det. Jerry Hanes
San Bernardino Police Department
California
New Mexico detective follows the trail leading to the offender
“The Los Lunas Police Department had a call at a local residence for an aggravated burglary where several musical instruments were stolen along with two handguns. A LeadsOnline search for the musical instruments showed that two instruments, a saxophone and a piano accordion, were sold in Albuquerque. The items were recovered which led us to the person who sold the items and that person led detectives to the actual offender of the burglary. A search warrant was served on the offender’s residence where one of the stolen firearms was recovered, the offender was charged for the stolen firearm as well as other charges.”
Det. Sgt. John Valdez
Los Lunas Police Department
New Mexico
“A 69 year old Navy Veteran in our county was a victim of a felony breaking and entering with intent to commit larceny, larceny after breaking and entering and larceny of a firearm. The value of the stolen property was estimated at $100,000. These items had been given to him by his father, who has since passed away, so the sentimental value of the stolen items was priceless to him. Most of the items were Military Memorabilia. Thanks to LeadsOnline, I was able to positively identify two suspects, recover nearly all of the items, including a Model 1911, .45 Caliber Pistol, which was recovered several states away. Unfortunately, the Victim had not recorded the serial number, which could have made it nearly impossible to recover. This was a family heirloom that had been given to him by his deceased father, and could not ever be replaced. This was a textbook case, which involved a joint effort between multiple jurisdictions, to include both military and civilian agencies, which all resulted from a lead provided by a hit on a LeadsOnline inquiry. Thank you for all you do to assist us in “Shining the light of Justice on the Darkness of Crime”. ”
Det. Robert Spade
Onslow County Sheriff’s Office
North Carolina
“A local business came to us on Jan. 18 about the suspected activity of internal metal theft. I used the LeadsOnline database to check area pawn shops and scrap yards. I was able to identify that the suspect who worked for the business was the same person who had been making frequent trips to the Indianapolis scrap yards and was scrapping several hundred pounds of metal every few days. The first documented activity started on Nov. 7, and the last reported transaction was on Jan. 11 of the following year. In all, there were 13 transactions documented. When shown the LeadsOnline documentation, the suspect confessed to taking the scrap metal without authorization and scrapping it at an Indianapolis scrap yard. All total, there was 5,668lbs of metal, 47lbs of brass, 193lbs of lead, and 70lbs of other metal; for a grand total weight of 5,978lbs.Criminal charges are being filed.”
Cpl. Jeff Klayer, Detective
Brownsburg Police Department
Indiana
Quick look in LeadsOnline proves suspect whereabouts in Arkansas metal theft case
“In December, a town in Arkansas was hit hard by a rash of copper wire thefts, causing thousands of dollars in repair and replacement for businesses in the community. The police put together a suspect profile and came up with a specific individual, but needed to completely prove that he’d been a part of those particular thefts. When they ran his driver’s license number through the LeadsOnline database, they were able to immediately see where he had recently sold some copper wire at one of the local scrap yards. An arrest was made on the suspect. The LeadsOnline Metal Theft System is run statewide in Arkansas.”
“Recently, there was a rash of vehicle thefts of broken down or abandoned vehicles from the Interstate area of Central Arkansas. It was determined that approximately 30-40 vehicles were taken to a local scrapyard where they were crushed. One vehicle was identified by its owner at the scrapyard.
After an extensive LeadsOnline check by our department’s auto theft detective, information was obtained showing a large number of vehicles being scrapped by two individuals. Due to LeadsOnline’s ability to have photographs of items being scrapped, it was determined that two individuals were responsible for pulling the vehicles to the scrap yard. Without the ability to check information on LeadsOnline, this valuable information would have never come to light. Thanks LeadsOnLine!”
Det. Desizlets and Det. Blevins
North Little Rock Police Department
Arkansas
“A homeowner gave me a still shot from a Game Camera of a suspect stealing copper wire from a storage shed. After an officer was able to identify the suspect, I used LeadsOnline to find where the suspect sold copper a few hours after the photo was taken. I went to the scrapyard and was able to get video showing the suspect wearing the same clothes and bringing in the same material that shown on the victim’s photo. Without LeadsOnline, it would have taken several days to go to all the scrap yards and search the reports by hand; instead it took a few mouse clicks.”
Det. Justin Howard
Birmingham Police Department
Alabama
“My office was signed up on LeadsOnline less than a day when we cleared a stolen outside air conditioning unit that had been sold at a scrap iron dealer in Lake Village, Arkansas. We are very pleased with the service and would highly recommend LeadsOnline to all law enforcement agencies.”
Chf. Dep. Kenneth Green
West Carroll Parish Sheriff’s Department
Oak Grove, Louisiana
“A complaint was made to the Grant Parish Sheriffs Office of the theft of a large aluminum pontoon boat, 10 to 12 feet in length. The theft occurred on a weekend night. That Monday, check with LeadsOnline M.T.I.S showed that the pontoon had been cut in three sections and sold to a scrap yard in Alexandria, LA. Less than 16 hours from the time of the theft, the remains of the pontoon were found and three suspects were identified. Thanks to LeadsOnline and the information obtained, the case was closed in less than 16 hours.”
Det. Doug James
Grant Parish Sheriffs Office
Colfax, Louisiana
“During the month of February, I received an influx of reports about stolen cast iron drainage grates, manhole covers and drainage grates found in self-service car washes. I made contact with a fellow detective from a neighboring jurisdiction and he provided a possible suspect name since they were encountering the same crimes. Upon running the name on LeadsOnline, we were able to obtain additional suspect information such as vehicle description, co-defendants and a pattern of suspect’s visits to the metal recyclers. Two suspects were arrested and charged with several counts of Grand Larceny after arriving at the metal recycler with almost 2 tons of stolen drainage grates in the bed of their truck. Upon interviewing them, one confessed to committing the crimes. The total amount of the thefts topped $8,000 dollars and most of the complainants were able to recover their property after it was properly identified. The arrests of these two individuals cleared up several crimes in several jurisdictions.”
Det. Jaye Coleman
Jackson Police Department
Mississippi
“After obtaining a confession from a suspect for theft of a metal roof, I checked LeadsOnline and found that this suspect had also scrapped several electric motors that were stolen in December. After being confronted with the evidence from LeadsOnline, he confessed to the theft of the electric motors as well.”
Det. Stephen Wilson
Ironton Police Department
Ohio
“In May, we began investigating a case of nearly $150,000 worth of stolen batteries. The suspect was selling more than 10,000 pounds of locomotive batteries that appeared to be stolen from his employer. LeadsOnline showed the suspect had been selling the batteries over the past three years to recyclers across Alabama. Without this evidence, the suspect would have continued his activity and the business would still be losing money.”
Det. Justin Howard
Birmingham Police Department
Alabama
“I recently used LeadsOnLine to arrest a subject who was on a drug binge and stealing from numerous victims. I had a stolen Ford F250 truck where I ran the vin and got a LeadsOnline hit showing where it was scrapped in Pascagoula, Miss. I was able to locate the person who scrapped it and was eventually led to the subject who stole the truck as well as numerous batteries and other pieces of equipment. He used to be the victim’s employee. A warrant was signed and the subject was arrested. Probation revocation is pending, as well as court on this charge of Theft of Property-1st. Thanks for the help. Will be nice when Alabama catches up and we can find Alabama scrap yard items.”
Det. Mark Kinsey
Mobile County Sheriff’s Department
Alabama
“A street sweeper and trailer were reported stolen in our county. The suspect sold it the same day. The ordinance requires a photo be taken of the person, vehicle and item being sold. It also requires a fingerprint. With that evidence we were able to identify the suspect, recover the street sweeper and file a criminal case. The suspect used a friend’s driver’s license instead of his own, but the photo and fingerprint identified the real suspect. The ordinance also requires the information be made available to law enforcement the same day as the sale. The street sweeper was recovered before it could be sold or destroyed; a recovery value of $5,000. Prior to the ordinance and LeadsOnline documentation, we could not solve this type of case or recover property.”
Lt. Mark Sanderson, LCC
Collin County Sheriff’s Office
Texas
On Dec. 12 – A business reported a large amount of fabricated steel, stolen. They reviewed their video surveillance and discovered two males loaded metal into a white Chevrolet Suburban two days prior.
Dec. 14 – Video of the theft shown on a Crime Stoppers segment on the local news.
Dec. 15 – I received a tip regarding who the suspect could be. I checked him through LeadsOnline and found three very large scrap tickets (just over 5,400 lbs) for Dec. 10. I pulled up the tickets and saw the photos of him and the vehicle that he was using. The vehicle and his clothing were the same as in the surveillance video and it was obvious as to his identity. I also checked LeadsOnline and ran the tag on the suspect’s vehicle. I located a ticket for Dec. 10, where an accomplice scrapped a large amount of metal (just over 1,800 lbs). In his photo, it showed a picture of both suspects, along with the white Suburban, still wearing the same clothing.
Dec. 15 – First suspect arrested at his residence for theft of property $1,000 to $5,000.
Dec. 18 – Second suspect arrested for a warrant that I had obtained for him for theft of property $1,000 to $5,000. The property was estimated at $3,500.00 but was not able to be recovered. There was not believed to be any additional damage.”
Cpl. Jeff Craghead
Property Crimes
Fort Smith Police Department
Arkansas
“There were several items stolen from some property in Cleveland County. Three days later, Deputy Chance Dodson found the property at a scrap yard by using LeadsOnline. All the property was recovered and three of the four suspects have been arrested. LeadsOnline is a great tool for law enforcement.”
Investigator Josh Bolland
Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department
Arkansas
The hotel may be deserted, but the Police Department sure is active
“One of our patrol officers spotted a car backed into a deserted hotel on the outskirts of town. Upon investigation, the car was found to be a hotbed of stolen copper wire. Suspects had entered the hotel and begun stripping copper products from various sources, defacing most of the property in the process. I used LeadsOnline to search the tag off of the car, and I was able to find three crooks selling the copper pipes and wire to an area scrap yard. Interviews and fingerprints have led to the arrest of two suspects for the copper thefts, and there are two more arrests pending. We couldn’t have done it without LeadsOnline!”
Det. Brad Handley
Eureka Springs Police Department
Arkansas
You like apples? How do you like these apples? Behind bars, because that’s where you’re going
“In December of 2011, a Breaking and Entering occurred at an electric substation. The power transformer unit owned by the City of North Little Rock, Ark., was forcibly entered by a suspect in an effort to acquire the copper bushings located within the transformer. The suspect caused $345,000 worth the damage, and fled the scene with a significant amount of copper. A quick search of LeadsOnline allowed me to identify the items stolen from the substation, and the suspect was quickly identified. Without the help of LeadsOnLine we could not have found and recovered crucial evidence within hours of the incident. LeadsOnLine continues to be an incredible source of information and an asset to law enforcement officials everywhere.”
Det. John Desizlets
North Little Rock Police Department
Arkansas
Fool me once? Nope. You can’t fool me even once with LeadsOnline in my corner
“A suspect was scrapping an odd amount of copper with peculiar frequency and regularity. We had discovered, using LeadsOnline, that the crook had been scrapping various copper and brass products over a six month time period. We were able to determine that the subject had stolen $180,000 worth of scrap metal from his employer. After his arrest, he was released on bond, but his criminal activity continued. After being contacted in reference to a burglary, I was able to locate the same suspect pawning his ex-wife’s $6,000 ring set after breaking into her home and stealing the items. Once again, LeadsOnline directed us to the ring set where police confiscated the item. He was once again arrested. Thanks LeadsOnline! Scoreboard: Copper Thief – 0 points, Detective Moore and LeadsOnline – 2 points.”
Det. Brad Moore
Georgetown Police Department
Kentucky
“Using LeadsOnline, Peoria Police identified three suspects in over 16 separate burglaries involving the theft of A/C units from vacant homes. Over $80,000 in damages was committed to the homes, but with the efforts of the Peoria PD and the assistance of LeadsOnline, we have pulled these criminals off the streets in Arizona.”
Officer John Banach
Peoria Police Department
Arizona
“On July 10, 2012, we were interviewing a suspect about stolen car batteries taken from a local business. We ran the suspect’s name through LeadsOnline, and that produced evidence of the suspect selling batteries the morning after they were reported stolen. When confronted with the evidence, the suspect confessed to multiple counts of theft. We have since turned the case over to the District Attorney’s Office.”
Det. Justin Howard
Birmingham Police Department
Alabama
“Det. Blevins ran the name of a subject in a stolen vehicle case through the LeadsOnline system. It showed they had scrapped a large number of vehicle bodies to this scrap yard. After viewing the photographs of the subject’s scrapped vehicle bodies, several ongoing cases have started on this subject. Without the information provided by the LeadsOnline system, this subject would have gone unnoticed.”
Det. John Desizlets
North Little Rock Police Department
Arkansas
“LeadsOnline has once again proven itself to be one of the most useful tools in my investigatory arsenal! We received two reports of copper downspouts being stolen from a local church and a residence. After looking at the information available I went to LeadsOnline and searched for more than 100 pounds of copper being scrapped. Within a span of minutes I had a number of results, one of which contained a person of interest tag from Bexley Police, another local agency. With the information provided by their detective I was able to link the cases together and had good suspects for the crime. Less than a week later the two suspects had surrendered and I was able to obtain confessions showing that the two had been responsible for almost 2 dozen thefts of copper from the Columbus area! The most impressive part of the whole story is that the person of interest tag had only been put on my suspect a few hours before I did my search. Thanks to the information sharing system attached to LeadsOnline I got the break I needed in a case that could have otherwise gone unsolved. Thanks again LeadsOnline!”
Sgt. Stephen Mette
Worthington Police Department
Ohio
LeadsOnline scrap metal reporting and investigations system is working in Ohio
“An electrical company in the city of Worthington, Ohio had two of their vans broken into. Tools as well as copper wire were taken. Within minutes of the case being assigned to a detective for follow up a suspect was identified using LeadsOnline. The owner of the business met with detectives at the pawn shop where the suspect sold the tools, and positively identified them as belonging to his company. This same suspect sold copper wire for scrap to a local scrap/salvage yard at the same time. There were NO leads in this case and without LeadsOnline their case would have been closed with no arrest made!”
Det. Keith Agin
Worthington Police Department
Ohio
Alabama detectives solve metal theft cases with comprehensive data from scrap metal recyclers
“I contacted LeadsOnline in reference to a trial version of LeadsOnline Metal Theft. You all were happy to oblige and the second day of using the trial version, I was able to identify and solve two metal thefts involving a recent case. I was also able to correctly identify a suspect who was involved in a metal theft and was arrested and bonded using a false identity. The program paid for itself in its second day of use and assisted in closing three cases with a total of six arrests. Thanks LeadsOnline!”
Inv. Doug Duke
Cullman Sheriff’s Office
Alabama
900 pounds of stolen metal found by investigators using LeadsOnline metal theft investigation system
“A local business filed a report with the Tishomingo, Mississippi County Sheriff’s Department concerning stolen metal. A fence surrounding the business was cut, and approximately 900 pounds of scrap metal was stolen. Information was collected and an individual was listed as a possible suspect. I checked the name of the individual and discovered that he had sold around 900 pounds of scrap to a scrap yard in a neighboring county. The individual stated that he was not involved with the crime during the interview. The individual was shown a copy of the transaction receipt from LeadsOnline documenting the date and time of the transaction along with a description of what was sold. The transaction receipt also had a picture of his driver’s license. The individual confessed to the crime and was charged with Grand Larceny.”
Det. Logan Vaughn
Tishomingo Country Sheriff’s Department
Mississippi
Metal theft suspect identified by detective using LeadsOnline metal theft investigation system
“An old dryer and some scrap metal were reported from a residence in our county. A witness provided a license plate number off of the suspect vehicle. By using LeadsOnline, it was possible to get the identities of the two suspects that had stolen the property. A warrant was obtained for the two suspects. One week later, the suspects were arrested on the warrants and both suspects gave a confession to stealing the property. If it would not have been for LeadsOnline there would not have been enough evidence to tie the suspects to the stolen property. LeadsOnline is a great tool and I wish it would have been around ten years ago. The staff at LeadsOnline are very resourceful, and if you have a problem, they have an answer pretty quick.”
Det. Josh Bolland
Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department
Arkansas
“A local cemetery began seeing a large amount of flower urns missing. The cemetery did not report the thefts to police but did send a letter to a local scrap yard advising of the thefts. One month later, we were made aware of the incident by an employee at a local scrap yard but were unable to locate the person selling the flower urns. Upon searching the LeadsOnline database we found another suspect who was related to the person in question and were able to further the investigation. Four suspects were arrested and two of them confessed to the crime. The four suspects were responsible for taking more than 600 flower urns from the cemetary. Three of them were charged with 612 counts of theft of copper from a cemetery and are currently in jail awaiting trial. The fourth suspect is also in jail and was charged with 30 counts of theft of copper from a cemetery. Photographs obtained from the LeadsOnline database clearly show the suspects selling the flower urns. The suspects cut the urns up in several pieces before selling them. The total loss to the cemetery is over $100,000.”
Det. Chance Cappel
Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office
Louisiana
“A construction company reported the theft of approximately $60,000 in steel road construction plates from a road construction site in Raceland. The company estimated their weight at approx. 10,000 pounds and the name of the company was burned into them. After coming up with a suspect’s name we were able to use LeadsOnline metal theft investigations system and find where the suspect had scrapped 9,188 pounds of steel at a scrap yard in Huntington, West Virginia. We contacted the scrap yard, and learned that steel they had bought was steel plates. Huntington PD was then contacted, and they checked the plates and found the name of the construction company was burned into the metal. A warrant was obtained for the suspect, and the construction company was able to pick up their road plates. If it had not been for LeadsOnline, this case would probably never have been solved.”
Chief Donald Sammons
Raceland Police Department
Kentucky
“With the assistance of LeadsOnline, I was able to locate and recover over 21 batteries that were stolen from a major utility company. This led to two felony charges for theft of copper/aluminum/bronze.”
Det. Alejandro Martinez
San Antonio Police Department
Texas
Alabama detectives locate $50,000 in stolen metal with online metal theft database
“The day after Christmas, deputies found a subject passed out in a vehicle near the construction site of I-22. Deputies found several sand jacks in the back of the subject’s vehicle. Deputies found that the sand jacks had been stolen from the construction site. One hour after the report was filed detectives activated the free 30-day metal trials of the LeadsOnline Metal Theft Investigations System to investigate the suspect. Detectives discovered that over the Christmas holiday, this subject had sold over 5,000 pounds of steel. Detectives went to the scrap yard and located $51,350 worth of steel forms, sand jacks, and other steel material used in the construction of the interstate. This is just another fine example of how valuable LeadsOnline is to law enforcement! Thank you!”
Sgt. Det. Ellen Scheirer
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
Alabama
LeadsOnline state scrap theft database alerts police to copper thieves
“In Glendale, Arizona, a vacant multi-million dollar commercial complex was burglarized repeatedly, sustaining tens of thousands of dollars in stolen/damaged property. A fingerprint was located and LeadsOnline was used to locate the stolen copper and also develop a lead to another suspect. The suspect was arrested and confessed to burglarizing the property. He pled to jail time for his involvement.”
Det. Thomas Pocknell
Glendale Police Department
Arizona
“While investigating a larceny of approximately $70,000 worth of copper occurring over an eight month period from a local manufacturing facility, a suspect was developed in the case. Once the suspect was apprehended in the act of stealing more copper from the business he was subsequently interviewed. After being presented with the data of all of his transactions from selling copper that were retrieved form LeadsOnline, the suspect gave a full confession. After the confession, the subject was charged with 14 counts of larceny and 14 counts of Burglary in the second degree. Thanks to the easy access to LeadsOnline, I was able to quickly gather all of the subject’s sales data, which resulted in a successful interview and confession.”
Deputy Garrett Cash
Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Patrol
South Carolina
“We began investigating a homicide case in which the victim, Jack Markowitz, was the buyer and seller of catalytic converters and also reported to LeadsOnline. The victim was found dead inside his burning vehicle on Hwy 57 in Gautier, Mississippi. With little to go on, Investigators soon began piecing together the puzzle. Witnesses who passed by the area described to police a black dodge pickup truck with a metal cage on the back that was seen parked next to the victim prior to the crime. Investigators began using LeadsOnline to run inquiries on each person that the victim recently did business with since he was a reporting dealer. During this search, investigators ran the name Steven Brown who was supposed to meet the victim earlier in the day. What investigators discovered, cracked the case wide open. A recent transaction of catalytic converters between Steven Brown and the victim showed a photograph of the catalytic converters, as well as the back of Brown’s black dodge truck and metal cage. Using this information from LeadsOnline helped investigators solve their homicide case in less than eight hours and resulted in a charge of capital murder against Steven Brown. LeadsOnline has been an invaluable tool for the Gautier Police Department, allowing us to solve countless property crimes. In this case, LeadsOnline helped a reporting scrap metal dealer lead police to the criminal who took his life. We look forward to continued service with LeadsOnline.”
Det. Jonathan Whitfield
Gautier Police Department
Mississippi
Statewide electronic reporting system for scrap theft alerts leads police metal theft suspects
“I received a picture of a vehicle where someone was stealing metal. The owner of the metal gave me names of some people in the area hauling scrap metal. I checked their names with LeadsOnline, and one of them had pictures of not only the vehicle, but the man’s metal was on it. Thanks LeadsOnline.”
Sgt. Robert Garner
Smith County Sheriff’s Department
Mississippi
Suspects linked to more than 40 valve thefts causing $75,000 in damages
“The Peoria Police Department’s Impact Team used LeadsOnline to connect three suspects with a dozen cases of stolen water flow valves in Peoria. At the time the three suspects were arrested, they had at least 10 water flow valves with them that have since been connected to a theft in Glendale. In fact, investigators linked the suspects to 20 cases in Scottsdale, and an additional 10 to 15 cases in Glendale. The suspects targeted commercial areas where multiple water flow devices were located in a row. They would steal at least 5 to 10 valves at a time going to the locations late at night or the very early morning. The suspects would take the valves to a scrap yard where they would get about $100 per valve for their precious metal content. However, the businesses who were victims of this crime usually have to pay thousands in repairs costs and have no access to water until the repairs are finished.”
Officer Luis Grijalva
Peoria Police Department
Arizona
“With the help of LeadsOnline I was able to close a metal theft case the day after it was reported. I had a witness who described the suspect’s vehicle and the same vehicle and suspect showed up at the scrap yard the same day of the theft. I wouldn’t have been able to close the case had it not been for LeadsOnline! Awesome feeling!”
Inv. Natasha Horner
Pike County Sheriff’s Office
Georgia
Missouri Police use electronic scrap metal database to solve battery thefts
“I was investigating several reports of batteries being stolen from vehicles in the Springfield, Missouri area. Upon obtaining a possible suspect name, I searched her name in LeadsOnline, and I was able to determine she had sold several batteries to a local “scrap yard” in the date range of the thefts of the batteries. I interviewed the suspect, and she confessed to stealing the batteries and selling them. The suspect also admitted her boyfriend was involved in stealing batteries and selling them. I searched his name in LeadsOnline and found he was selling several batteries as well. During the interview with him, he confessed to stealing batteries and selling them for cash to a scrap yard. Although I was unable to recover the stolen batteries, I was able to charge two suspects with Felony Stealing.”
Cpl. Jeremy Anderson
Springfield Police Department
Missouri
Police recover $28,000 in railroad equipment stolen from major railroad company
“I received a call from a local Railroad Police Agent after he received a tip that one of the employees was selling railroad property here in Fort Wayne. This employee, who is based in Pennsylvania, loaded his work truck up with A LOT of extra equipment prior to coming to Northern Indiana as part of a work crew. When it was all said and done, I was able to locate and recover nearly $28,000 in equipment — base radio’s, complete security camera systems, battery units for crossing signals….the list goes on and on. Needless to say, the railroad company was very happy to get their property and equipment back, and it was all done with ONE search in Leads.”
Det. Joseph Lyon
Fort Wayne Police Department
Indiana
“Our agency was investigating the theft of scrap metal. The same address was being targeted several times. We had a good idea of who was doing it, but even though there was video, the suspects were covering their faces. We got a suspect to start cooperating, and she told us who was involved. We started checking the name of the suspect that had the scrap metal permit, and through LeadsOnline, we were able to match up the items the suspect scrapped with the incident dates. Since we were able to corroborate the cooperating suspect’s statements, we were able to confront the scrapper with this information during the interview. The second suspect began to confess and give us names of other suspects. Having some of the scrap yards in our county on LeadsOnline really speeds us the investigation.”
Sgt. Henry Beck
Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office
South Carolina
Demolition employee scraps over 30,000 pounds of stolen metal behind boss’ back
“Leads, it never seizes to amaze me on how easy your system makes it to locate the wrong doing of a few unfortunate criminals who think they can be slicker than the system. My city has an old hospital they finally decided to tear down. In the past year we have had over 80 arrests for theft up at the site. I received a call from a probation officer who advised me on a routine check of one of his probationers, that he found some copper in her car. She claimed it came from her work. The probation officer advised me that the suspect worked for a business that was tearing down an old hospital. Hearing this, I ran her information through the LeadsOnline Metal Theft Investigations System, and the return showed that she had been scrapping behind her boss’ back for several months using a different scrapyard. The female suspect had scrapped at the rate of 18,368 pounds and her boyfriend, who also worked there, had scrapped 12,818 pounds. The business that was tearing down the old hospital was at a loss of over $49,318.12 worth of scrap metal. Wow.”
Det. John Desizlets
North Little Rock Police Department
Arkansas
“The city of Raleigh, North Carolina was experiencing a rising trend in the theft of metal storm grates over a period of two months. Working as a metal theft detective, it is sometimes hard to track stolen metal and identify the suspects in these cases. LeadsOnline made the difference in this case. In total, there were seven cases that specifically identified this series of theft. Using LeadsOnline, a suspect was identified that had been scrapping nothing but storm grates and miscellaneous shredder material. The same day I identified the suspect, an officer called me to tell me he had taken a report of some stolen storm grates, and just missed the suspect at the scrap yard, according to witnesses. With the investigative information obtained from the reports, witnesses and LeadsOnline information, I was able to place the suspect at the scene of the crimes within time, proximity and possession of stolen property. LeadsOnline helped me clear out seven cases, a pattern crime and identify $12,850 in stolen property at a scrap yard.”
Det. Wilbur O’Neal
Raleigh Police Department
North Carolina
“A citizen reported a heat pump unit and some property as stolen from his rental house. I located two weed eaters with LeadsOnline, identified one suspect, and with the video from the business, I was able to identify another suspect who sold the rest of the scrap metal. Two suspects charged and case closed! Thanks Leads.”
Det. John Mcmurray
Bean Station Police Department
Tennessee
“I had a victim make a report about several items that were stolen from around his farm. I asked him if he had any trouble with anyone lately, and he gave me a few names. I checked those names and nothing showed up, so I checked the names of some of their known associates. Those associates sold scrap the same day my victim had things stolen. I printed off a picture of a chainsaw that matched my victim’s description and showed the victim. He identified it was his. I arrested all the subjects who were involved including the subjects he first named. Without LeadsOnline they probably never would have been caught.”
Inv. Robert Garner
Smith County Sheriff’s Department
Mississippi
“I used the scrap search and found my bad guy within 10 minutes. I then had the scrap yard send me their entire list of transactions for the bad guy. With the complete list I interviewed the bad guy, and he confessed to taking the scrap from his work. Right now it is estimated to be in excess of $5,000. Made my job easy. Total time from search to closed = two hours. Thanks!”
Sgt. Richard Webster
Park Hills Police Department
Kentucky
“During the month of November, my area of the county was experiencing a large increase in metal theft. By dumb luck, we encountered the suspects selling some stolen batteries and metal to a local metal recycling center. While on the scene, we located a pawn slip for a saddle that had been reported stolen. I decided to check LeadsOnline to see if any other items had been sold, and found several other items that matched descriptions of items reported stolen but with no known suspects. With a little dumb luck and a lot of help from LeadsOnline, I closed four additional cases, and put two very dirty thieves in the Brunswick County Detention Center.”
Det. Ryan Newman
Brunswick County Sheriff’s Department
North Carolina