News and Success Stories

“I was assigned a Burglary and Break/Enter to a home and storage building. A Craftsman lawn mower was taken sometime between 1/21/10 and 2/2/10, when the thefts were discovered. I checked our local pawn shops for this date range for a Craftsman mower and found where one had been pawned on 1/27/10 (not the season for push mowers). I was able to determine it was in fact the mower of my victim, an elderly man. I was able to interview the person who pawned the mower and the results were a full confession to more than $1,000 of additional property that was taken — that the victim didn’t even realize. In addition, an additional suspect was identified and also gave a confession. One is now serving 10 years and the other 20 years, thanks to finding my mower using LeadsOnline. Thanks for a great Law Enforcement tool.”

Det. Jeff Carter
Ft. Smith Police Department
Arkansas

“By using LeadsOnline to run certain types of tools that were being stolen from a business, we were able to identify the suspect who sold those tools. Once we identified him, he became a suspect in three store thefts. The suspect will soon be arrested and charged with theft in some cases and a CBI case in another! I love this system.”

Det. Casey Furge
Ft. Wayne Police Department
Indiana

“On our agency’s first day connected with LeadsOnline, I was able to locate stolen property in two cases. In both cases, I was able to charge the suspects as well as retrieve and return the stolen property to the victims. One case in particular was a B&E of a Place of Worship.”

Det. Michael Macdonald
Fuquay Varina Police Department
North Carolina

“I was assigned a case involving the theft of an Xbox 360 game system with controllers. The victim reported that her sister and her sister’s boyfriend had been babysitting her kids while she was at work. When the victim returned home her sister and sister’s boyfriend had company over at the house. She went to bed in her bedroom and unknowing to her, her sister and sister’s boyfriend left the home, leaving the male company in the house. When the victim woke up the following morning, she discovered that her kids’ Xbox 360 was missing along with her Ford truck, a cell phone, and a ladies diamond ring. After calling the police to report these items missing, she realized she still had the box that the Xbox 360 game system came in. The serial number was still on the box. After checking leadsonline.com and entering the serial numbers, there was a match for an Xbox 360 being pawned in Hammond, Indiana. The suspect’s information matched the identity of the male who was left in the house. Felony charges for Theft were filed against the suspect.”

Det. JerVean Gates
Gary Police Department
Indiana

“Utilizing LeadsOnline, I was able to recover a stolen 46-inch plasma flat screen TV!!”

Det. Cody Lee
Gatesville Police Department
Texas

“I was assigned a case regarding the theft of several pieces of gold jewelry which included a wedding band. Through LeadsOnline, I was able to locate and recover the wedding band from a nearby pawn shop just five days later. Thanks for all you do!”

Det. Becky Thibodeaux
Gautier Police Department
Mississippi

“I was able to locate some stolen coolers that were sold to an out of state business by using LeadsOnline as a research tool. I was able to recover the items, get them to their proper owner, and build a solid case against those responsible for the theft. I, on behalf of my entire department, feel that LeadsOnline is an invaluable tool that assists our agency in the research and investigation of criminal activity. Keep up the good work maintaining the site!”

Det. Christopher Brown
Gautier Police Department
Mississippi

“I was able to locate several items from a burglary using LeadsOnline, and thus was able to apprehend the suspect and charge him with possession of stolen property (felony). The items were sold the same day of the burglary. The recovered items totaled $806.”

Det. Daniel Patrick
Gautier Police Department
Mississippi

“In January, our agency took a theft report where our victim reported five items of jewelry missing from her bedroom. During my interview with the victim, she disclosed that she had an HVAC serviceman in her home around the same time she believed the jewelry went missing. She trusted the serviceman and never would have suspected him to steal from her. After obtaining the serviceman’s name, I searched him on LeadsOnline. During the search, I located a ticket from a business that listed the serviceman as the selling party. The ticket included a photograph of the jewelry, a picture of the serviceman during the transaction, and a photograph of his Illinois state identification card he presented. The serviceman sold our victim’s jewelry to the business for $450, about a half hour after he was in her home. The retail value of the jewelry was approximately $1,500. The jewelry was recovered and an arrest warrant for residential burglary was later obtained and successfully executed.”

Det. Clinton Montgomery
Geneva Police Department
Illinois

“Our offender was permitted to reside with our victim where upon he stole the family’s possessions and sold them to various businesses. We utilized LeadsOnline to locate those businesses and we were able to reclaim some of the victim’s possessions. We were also able to use surveillance footage from one of the businesses to link our offender to the crime. With this information we were able to obtain an arrest warrant and track the offender’s whereabouts based on the businesses he was frequenting at the time.”

Det. Sarah Sullivan
Geneva Police Department
Illinois

“I recovered six stolen items using LeadsOnline. These items were taken during two vehicle break-ins at a local hospital parking garage. We identified the suspect using hospital surveillance video and confirmed his identity using LeadsOnline. The suspect was charged and arrested.”

Det. R.J. Severs
Germantown Police Department
Tennessee

“Due to NCIC reporting guidelines several items with serial numbers never get entered into the national database, and therefore have a slim chance of getting recovered. With this being known, I began running every stolen item with a serial number reported to our agency through LeadsOnline. Since beginning this, we have recovered over $20,000 worth of our victim’s stolen property from 30 different cases. Out of the 30 cases, so far 12 people have been arrested. Some of the other cases are still actively being investigated and hopefully will lead to additional arrests.”

Det. Joanne Lockhart
Gilbert Police Department
Arizona

“An acquaintance was allowed to stay with the victim and was alleged to of taken multiple items from the residence. A LeadsOnline search was done on the suspect who was found to of pawned a stolen Barnes & Noble tablet, which belonged to the victim. The tablet was later recovered, and the suspect was arrested and pled to three years in the Arizona Department of Corrections.”

Det. Thomas Pocknell
Glendale Police Department
Arizona

“In April, I checked LeadsOnline for any recent NCIC hits. I saw that an iPad that had been reported stolen during a forced-entry burglary and had been sold to an EcoATM machine. I was able to return the stolen property to the original owner, and an arrest was made for Theft by Receiving Stolen Property and Theft by Deception. The interview with the person who sold the item solidified my probable cause, and arrest warrants are out for the person who committed the burglary. Without LeadsOnline, the property would never have been found, and the case would remain unsolved.”

Det. Nicholas Lawson
Glynn County Police Department
Georgia

“We have a lot of Larceny’s in this small town, LeadsOnline has made solving these case’s a lot easier. Just this past week I was able to retrieve stolen property that was sold in the next county over. Case solved and property returned to rightful owner.”

Det. Jamal Odom
Graham County Sheriff’s Office
North Carolina

“I was working a case involving a burglary of items valued at $16,000. There were no suspects at the time, but we entered the serial numbers into LeadsOnline. The next day, several of the items that were stolen were sold in another county. I placed the items on hold at the business. The next morning I checked LeadsOnline and found the remainder of the items were sold at a shop in yet another county. I found all the items that were stolen, and as a result, I charged three individuals with this burglary thanks to LeadsOnline.”

Det. Josh Pettiecord
Grainger County Sheriff’s Department
Tennessee

“In July, detectives were able to solve a theft of lawn equipment within minutes of getting the report. The items were found with the help of LeadsOnline. The victim supplied the serial numbers for the items stolen, and a match was found on LeadsOnline.”

Det. Marvin Braden
Grainger County Sheriff’s Office
Tennessee

“I was able to recover approximately 40 different stolen items that had been sold to multiple stories in three different cities. Without LeadsOnline, this would not have been possible.”

Det. Jeff Erwin
Grand Prairie Police Department
Texas

“I just wanted to say thank you for helping me solve my theft case! Within the first two weeks of my new position, I solved a felony theft case using LeadsOnline. So thank you LeadsOnline for the help.”

Det. Clint Patton
Fayette County Sheriff’s Office
Georgia

“I received a notification from LeadsOnline regarding a possible stolen firearm that was stolen from a Fayetteville residence in August of 2012. Detective Phillip Lee found the report and called the pawnshop where the firearm was pawned. Detective Phillip Lee spoke with an employee and confirmed the serial number and color of the firearm. The firearm is currently being held at the pawnshop pending investigation. Good job Detective Phillip Lee. Note: Detective Phillip Lee is not related to Detective Travis Lee!”

Det. Travis Lee
Fayetteville
Arkansas

“Patrol was sent to investigate a suspicious vehicle occupied by three subjects near a house that had recently been burglarized. Responding officers stopped two of the three subjects and called me to the scene to assist. I ran both subjects through LeadsOnline at the scene, and determined that one of the subjects had just pawned a bicycle matching the description of one that was taken in the burglary. I arrested that subject, and he gave me information during his interrogation that I used to determine the identity of the third subject that got away. I ran that subject through LeadsOnline, and checked a local pawnshop. I recovered nearly all of the proceeds of the burglary.”

Det. Jason Eddie
Fayetteville Police Department
Arkansas

“Police have been using LeadsOnline for several years now in Fayetteville, North Carolina and have had tremendous success recovering thousands of dollars stolen property. I was able to help two South Carolina counties recover musical equipment stolen from numerous churches then brought to Fayetteville, North Carolina and pawned. That suspect was apprehended and convicted when he was given a plea agreement in South Carolina. That same suspect was also charged by our agency for similar charges and pled to those charges also. I have officers from other agencies that inquired about LeadsOnline and how it helped our agency and advised them to use the trial time and also sent them copies of our City Ordinance. I have been extremely impressed with what LeadsOnline provides to assist Law Enforcement with numerous types of crimes.”

Det. Randall Bartay
Fayetteville Police Department
North Carolina

“I was investigating a case where the subject in question was a property manager and had taken off without the property owner knowing. The subject stole a vehicle from the owner when he left in the middle of the night. The property owner found that all the hand tools and power tools that were stored on the property were also missing. This totaled over $10,000 in theft. Using LeadsOnline, I was able to recover the property from other counties and place holds on the items until pick up. Even though I was not able to recover all the property, the victim was really pleased with the items that were recovered, and LeadsOnline helped my case tremendously.”

Det. Nicholas Hamby
Fentress Co. Sheriff’s Office
Tennessee

“I conducted a search for a bicycle last year. I had the serial number, and I always save my searches for 60 days. Needless to say, the case was closed and long forgotten. I received an NCIC hit through LeadsOnline on the bicycle almost a year to the date. I had the business send me a picture of the bike, and the complainant positively identified it. Happy ending. The offense occurred May 2015 and the Bike was recovered May 2016. Never give up hope!”

Det. Sarah Mayle
Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office
Texas

“I was planning a family vacation from Fort Collins, Colorado, to Abilene, Texas. Prior to leaving, I ran my daily NCIC Hit report. Where should one of our stolen bikes show up but in a store in Abilene! It was a bike worth $1600 that had been stolen from a 15-year-old-boy. I simply attached a bike rack to our family vehicle and was able to recover the bike for our juvenile victim while in Abilene. I didn’t think that much about it at the time, but the family was so impressed that LeadsOnline was able to find the bike for us two states away, that they notified the press. The resulting positive public relations was invaluable!”

Det. David Grant
Fort Collins Police Department
Colorado

“I was able to solve three cases in the last month using LeadsOnline. It’s a great tool, and I highly recommend it.”

Det. Brad Palmer
Fort Oglethorpe Police Department
Georgia

“I recently worked on a case where the victim was on vacation in Key West Florida. She was alerted by her cell phone that someone was in her house in Fort Pierce Florida. She pulled up her residence on her phone and saw three suspects in her house. The suspects happened to be former schoolmates of her son. At first the suspects denied the break in. Their names were entered into LeadsOnline which showed that the suspects sold several of the victim’s items at Cash American Pawn in Fort Pierce. The suspects were shown to have sold several other items that were stolen from other burglaries. The suspects were arrested. One confessed to the crime and are pending other charges from other burglaries.”

Det. Tyrone Campbell
Fort Pierce Police Department
Florida

“I was assigned a case where a grandmother had a ring stolen from her. Using LeadsOnline, I was able to find where her granddaughter sold the ring to a gold store. Even though the grandmother did not want to prosecute the granddaughter, she was able to get the ring back inside of ten days.”

Det. James Melson
Fort Smith Police Department
Arkansas

“On February 14th I entered a lap top computer into LeadsOnline that had recently been stolen. A couple of days later, I received a hit from LeadsOnline, saying the lap top was at a local pawn shop. I used the information provided to get an arrest warrant for the person who pawned the computer, and was also able to return the computer to its owner within a week of it being stolen.”

Det. James Melson
Fort Smith Police Department
Arkansas

“While speaking with an 80-year-old victim, I ran the suspect’s name through LeadsOnline. I found where the suspect had pawned the victim’s deceased husband’s wedding ring. The victim and I went to the pawn shop, and she was able to recover the ring. I had a felony warrant for the suspect by the end of the day.”

Det. James Melson
Fort Smith Police Department
Arkansas

“I used LeadsOnline to locate stolen property from a burglary case I worked!!”

Det. Lee Mccabe
Fort Smith Police Department
Arkansas

“On February 7, 2012 I received a crime stoppers tip giving information about a couple scrapping air conditioner parts. I ran both names through LeadsOnline and found not only were they scrapping a large amount of copper, but they were also pawning a lot of car stereos. One of the stereos pawned was reported stolen to my department. On February 13, 2012, we began to follow this couple and caught them breaking into cars. An interview with the female helped solve cases going back to June 2011… This was all thanks to finding the stolen stereo on your site.”

Det. Scott Tegtmeyer
Fort Wayne
Indiana

“During my investigation, I was talking to LeadsOnline, and I learned about Mark McClish’s Statement Analyzer that will automatically analyze a statement to reveal deceptive statements. I tried it on a statement from my suspect, and when I went back with that intel, I asked more questions and got a confession. He not only confessed to the case I was working on, but he also confessed to several other unsolved burglaries. Thanks so much, the victims are very thankful. It’s so good to see a victim smile when you recover their property. Thanks!”

Det. Cornell Wiley
Fort Wayne Police Department
Indiana

“A victim called to report a theft that occurred at her residence. The complainant gave info on the contractors who were recently at her house. Once she provided the names of the persons of interest and a description of the gold/diamond tennis bracelet valued over $35,000, I let LeadsOnline do the rest. When I interviewed the suspect and produced copies of all the transactions, the suspect confessed and the item was recovered. The victim was thankful to get the customized tennis bracelet back!”

Det. Cornell Wiley
Fort Wayne Police Department
Indiana

“Recovered six of seven items taken in car break ins. Suspects were charged with 26 counts of 1st degree criminal trespass and 14 counts of theft. Suspects will also be charged with false information to a pawn broker. Thanks for all of your help.”

Det. Thomas Davis
Fountain Police Department
Colorado

“I checked LeadsOnline for a generator I was missing and located it. This missing generator helped two agencies clear 8 break-ins.”

Det. Dean Woody
Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
North Carolina

“We had a case involving the breaking and entering of a residence where a cell phone was stolen. Luckily the victim had the serial number and we recovered the item by using LeadsOnline. We didn’t have any suspects until searching LeadsOnline. Great tool.”

Det. Wayne Daniels
Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
North Carolina

“A business was burglarized in Franklin Park, and items that were reported stolen included laptop computers and power tools. A couple days after the burglary, the business provided a serial number for one of the stolen laptops. A LeadsOnline search showed that the laptop was sold approximately 40 miles away. An inquiry of the suspect who sold the stolen laptop revealed that he had also sold numerous other items stolen during this burglary. The investigation continued and it was found that this same suspect was committing residential burglaries. In total, several thousands of dollars’ worth of proceeds was recovered from the Franklin Park case and multiple residential burglaries from three other jurisdictions. Felony charges were approved against the suspect.”

Det. Thomas Ferris
Franklin Park Police Department
Illinois

“Wow, this database is awesome. We have had a rash of garage burglaries over the past couple of weeks and had no suspect information. I have had success in the past with serial numbers on stolen items; however, none of the victims of the garage burglaries had serial numbers on the items that were taken. I queried the specific brand name of a tool that was taken last week and identified the specific item that had been taken, it was somewhat unique. This led to a suspect who had pawned 103 items over a one month period, more than 4 transactions per day. There is currently a warrant issued for his arrest.”

Det. Travis Williams
Denver Police Department
Colorado

“A burglary occurred during which property was taken from the residence of the victim. At the time the burglary was committed a construction crew was working at the residence and had come under suspicion for the burglary. After completing a LeadsOnline query, another suspect was developed, who was not a member of the construction crew. This individual was arrested for the burglary and violation of pawnbroker act. Because of LeadsOnline the construction crew was not investigated thus saving me, the investigator, a tremendous amount of time.”

Det. Travis Williams
Denver Police Department
Colorado

“I was assigned to investigate a warrant arrest for burglary. During the initial investigation the item that was stolen, an expensive camera, was not recovered. When the case was re-assigned to me, I queried the Leads database and located the camera in another city. Locating the camera made the case considerably stronger and charges for theft were subsequently filed.”

Det. Travis Williams
Denver Police Department
Colorado

“I was assigned a burglary case in which an Apple iPad was taken. I queried LeadsOnline and located the item in a metro area pawn shop. Further information revealed the pawn occurred less than two hours after the offense occurred. Because of the time frame and the positive identification of the suspect, charges for Burglary and Violation of Pawnbroker Act were filed.”

Det. Travis Williams
Denver Police Department
Colorado

“Just recently, an NCIC hit on your site involving a stolen welder that had been taken to a business out of state helped us clear a burglary case from last week.”

Det. Steve English
DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office
Mississippi

“LeadsOnline is a very helpful and resourceful tool that has proven valuable time and time again. I have made four arrests, recovered approximately 3,500 in stolen property, and solved eight cases in the short time I have been using it. A great tool that everyone should use.”

Det. Clyde Lear
Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office
South Carolina

“Just to let you know, I was able to recover $20,000 in jewelry using LeadsOnline. You are a great asset!”

Det. Mike Mccoy
Early Police Department
Texas

“When is the last time I told you guys how much I love LeadsOnline?! Just the other day, I recovered another electronic device that was stolen from a vehicle burglary. El Cajon has multiple vehicle burglaries daily, so recovering property from one is very rare. Thank you LeadsOnline – another piece of property recovered and another suspect in jail!”

Det. Stacy Orchulli
El Cajon Police Depoartment
California

“Last year, I received a breaking and entering and theft of property report. The complainant reported his work tools and equipment, totaling approximately $5,150, had been stolen from his work van. Three days later, I checked LeadsOnline using the Residents Pawning Outside of Jurisdiction Feature. This led me to discover the tools had been sold in Camden, AR. I made contact with the business owner who provided me with photos of the tools. These tools were then positively identified by the complainant. I made contact with the suspect who had been arrested on an unrelated charge. The suspect ultimately confessed to being responsible for breaking the window out of the work van and stealing the reported property. His confession led me to the recovery of all but one of the remaining stolen items. Needless to say, the company owner was very proud to know their property had been recovered! Thanks LeadsOnline for helping to provide us with a valuable service!”

Det. Tammie Goodwin
El Dorado Police Department
Arkansas

“Two subjects went to a family friend’s farm to dispose of some debris. The male and the female subjects were later invited into the victim’s residence. Once inside, the female subject asked to use a bathroom. After leaving the bathroom, the female subject went directly into the victim’s bedroom while she was being occupied in another part of the residence by the white male subject. $4,500 worth of jewelry was stolen during the incident. The following day the victim contacted law enforcement and reported the theft. The two suspects were checked through the LeadsOnline database. Search of LeadsOnline revealed that approximately one hour after leaving the victim’s residence both subjects sold the stolen jewelry in another county adjacent to our jurisdiction. Both suspects were arrested, charged with the theft and have since pled guilty in Hardin County Circuit Court on felony charges.”

Det. Peter Chytla
Elizabethtown police department
Kentucky

“I received an NCIC hit on a PS3 that was stolen over a year ago. This was a residential burglary. The reporting officer entered the item into NCIC with the serial number. A year after it was stolen, I received the hit from Leads regarding the reported stolen item and contacted the store to obtain the necessary information to hold the item. I contacted the victim and he refused to prosecute, stating ‘it’s been too long, I just want my property back.’ He was referred to the store. The item was removed from NCIC. This case has been closed due to refusal to prosecute. Thank you LeadsOnline. Without Leads this item would not have been recovered!”

Det. Dennis McCarthy
Elsmere Police Department
Kentucky

“We took a theft report of a gaming system. The Officer entered the item into NCIC as stolen. Through LeadsOnline, we received a potential NCIC hit notification. The Officer confirmed the actual stolen property at a store in another jurisdiction and the items reported stolen have been recovered and charges are now pending against the perpetrator.”

Det. Dennis McCarthy
Elsmere Police Department
Kentucky