News and Success Stories

Category: Violent Crime

Investigation into armed robbery leads to 20-year prison sentence for suspect

“On May 28, 2021, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office responded to an armed robbery that just occurred. The investigation started with only the description of two suspects and a phone number. Using LeadsOnline, I was able to identify the first suspect by using their phone number and finding their pawn history. By using the information found on LeadsOnline, I was able to develop a case on the suspect, which lead to an arrest warrant being issued a few days later. The suspect identified using the phone number and pawn history was found guilty and sentence to 20 years in prison.”

Inv. Kevin Zaj
Fayette County Georgia Sheriff
Georgia

Ninety percent of stolen jewelry from a sexual assualt case is recovered

“I am working a sex assault case in which subjects also stole the victim’s parent’s jewelry and money. I was able to get back 90 percent of the mom’s jewelry taken from the home during this incident.”

Det. Jeffrey Mattson
Crystal Lake Police Department
Illinois

Home invasion suspect identified

“I was able to talk to the correct investigator this morning in the Aug. 25 home invasion case in Fort Worth, and it turns out that LeadsOnline WAS used in this case. In fact, the system was instrumental in nabbing the first suspect in the case, 17-year-old Brandon Shaw, by tracing the jewelry he and two others stole in the crime to a pawn shop.

The investigator, Detective B.C. Johnson, said they wouldn’t have caught Shaw without LeadsOnline – or it certainly would have taken a much longer time. There is still one suspect at large in the case, but they’ve also arrested the second suspect, 19-year-old Darrell Williams.

The story is that Shaw, Williams, and the other suspect still at large broke into the house and viciously beat the parents in front of their children. (So badly that one of the parents had to have reconstructive surgery.) Moreover, it’s believed these guys may have been involved in a rash of other robberies this year, but that still hasn’t been corroborated yet.

Detective Johnson is a big fan of LeadsOnline, and told me that in addition to this case, it has helped him solve ‘many others.'”

Chris Payne
Witherspoon Public Relations
Ft. Worth, TX

Getting the case rolling

“I have been trying to find a person that will be a suspect and / or witness in a child porn case. I was unable to find him until I ran him in LeadsOnline. This case is turning into an aggravated sexual assault of a child. LeadsOnline has helped me get this case rolling and hopefully get some closure for several victims.”

Det. J.W. McRobbie
Arlington Police Department
Criminal Investigation Division
Texas

Stolen property leads to capital murder

“A neighboring municipality had a gruesome double homicide in which a female had been sexually assaulted and then murdered. Her husband had been murdered as he was returning home and tried to enter the residence. There was no physical evidence and no suspects.

While reviewing tickets from a non-participating LeadsOnline store, we got a serial number hit on property reported stolen during the offense. The property had been pawned months after the murders.

We developed a suspect for a gruesome double homicide, and we used LeadsOnline to do a complete pawn history of the suspect. We found that he had pawned other property within days of the offense. The suspect information was passed to the neighboring agency which arrested the suspect based on the information we had obtained. That property had been stolen during the offense. The suspect confessed and was convicted of capital murder.

Case update from Det. McRobbie: “The suspect in that Capital Murder case plead guilty before the court last week to escape the death penalty. We probably would not have found the victim’s jewelry without LeadsOnline. The fact that the suspect pawned the victim’s jewelry after the offense was discussed at trial. Thanks!”

Det. J.W. McRobbie
Arlington Police Department
Criminal Investigation Division
Texas

Gun used in attempted murder case recovered 20 years later

“In 1989, Ouachita Parish Sheriff Department worked an Armed Robbery & Attempted First Degree Murder case. During that incident, a Ruger .22 caliber handgun was stolen and was never recovered.

That is, until now. On Feb., 1, 2010 the handgun was pawned in Joshua, Texas. The original Sergeant who worked the case 22 years ago is now our current Sheriff — Royce Toney. The handgun is currently being seized and will be returned to our agency, all thanks to LeadsOnline for alerting us when the handgun was pawned.”

Note: this crime was solved while the department was on the LeadsOnline 30-Day Free Trial.

Staff Sgt. Wade Day
Ouachita Parish Sheriff Department
Louisiana

Escaped Indiana convict and burglar found in Minnesota

“In early September 2011, a homeowner was shot in the back during a burglary and robbery. The suspect ended up being an escaped convict who was drifting from state to state. We located the suspect in early October using LeadsOnline. Within a couple of days, the suspect was captured in Minnesota. He is now back in Indiana awaiting trial for attempted murder as well as other charges.”

Det. Sgt. Shane McHenry
Dearborn County Special Crimes
Indiana

Protecting all, including the pizza delivery person

“Around 11 p.m. on March 4, a pizza delivery person was beaten and robbed during a delivery. The two suspects (one black male and one white female) had phoned in a fake order to a vacant residence. When the delivery person arrived she was knocked to the ground and drug into the garage by her hair. The suspect’s roughed her up a little bit and threatened her with a club. They took a small amount of cash and two pizzas from her prior to fleeing on foot. A couple of days later, our Crimes Against Persons Sergeant came to me and asked if I could take a look at the case since they had no leads. I read the officer’s report and it listed a cell phone number from which the order had been phoned in. I was unable to locate the number in our local records database or CAD/911 system. I assumed that it was a fairly new number and they probably had not used it much. I then decided as a last resort to run the cell number through LeadsOnline. Sure enough I received a hit. I found two recent transactions in which this number was listed. One transaction was conducted by a black male and the other by a white female. The white female’s address on the pawn ticket was one street over and two blocks down from where the robbery occurred. The two subjects were located the following day and brought in for questioning. They both subsequently confessed to the robbery. Thanks to this system, I was able to identify the two suspects within 20 minutes of receiving the case. Hope this is a good example of the capabilities this system offers to law enforcement. Of course it is only one of many I’ve had over the past few years.”

Ofc. Shad Phillips
Abilene Police Department
Texas

Louisiana murder victim’s property found through LeadsOnline

“My cousin was robbed and murdered in the town that I live in and the only thing of value that he had on him was a gold charm on a necklace that he wore around his neck. I used Leads to search local pawn shops and found where the charm was pawned. I took my family in and let them verify that the charm was indeed my cousin’s. It has not solved his murder yet but it did bring some closure to his mother to get the only thing of value that her son had back in her possession.”

Officer Jeremy Prudhome
Centenary College of Louisiana Police Department
Louisiana

Bank robber identified by Colorado detective

“Longmont Police Department’s Community Service Officer / Detective Beth Buchholtz has the primary duty of conducting pawn investigations using LeadsOnline as a major tool in these investigations. She recently viewed the surveillance photos from a bank robbery and realized the suspect was a person who she knew had been making a large number of pawn transactions. She passed this information on to the robbery detective. Additional follow up was conducted by other detectives; an arrest warrant was obtained for and an arrest made of the person CSO Buchholtz identified. Not only is Beth adept at conducting pawn investigations she learns the “players” in Longmont and in this case was able to assist in the arrest of the bank robbery suspect.”

Sgt. Joel Post
Longmont Police Department
Colorado

Stolen Xbox recovered, thief and child molester identified via LeadsOnline

“Recently I was able to confirm that an Xbox 360 had been sold to a local retail store that had been reported stolen by an adult victim. During the course of this investigation I also learned that one of the adults that took this Xbox from its owner (who was not home at the time) also molested the owner’s minor child who was home at the time of the theft. I able to use the information of the person who sold the Xbox to locate and interview them and eventually get a confession of Theft, Receiving Stolen Property and Sexual Misconduct With a Minor. Thanks for your help LeadsOnline!”

Det. Troy Pesavento
Terre Haute Police Department
Indiana

Murder suspect pawns victim’s gold teeth overlays; Murder solved via LeadsOnline

“The Overland Park Fire Department responded to a fire in an apartment complex. The fire department found the resident lying on the floor. The victim had been stabbed several times in the neck. The fire had been an attempt to cover up the murder. The roommate reported that the last person to be with the victim was his 19 year old son. Reportedly the father and son had been separated for several years and had recently been united. The son also had a cousin that reportedly had some bad feelings towards the victim. At the start of the investigation we had the son identified, but not the cousin. The victim’s family suggested that some of his property may have been missing. I ran a check through LeadsOnline for any activity involving the son or his cousin. I found that the son had pawned some gold teeth overlays the day of the murder. The pawn shop was contacted and the teeth were collected along with the pawn shop’s video of the day. The teeth were identified as the victim’s. The video showed the two suspects entering the pawn shop and the entire transaction.”

Det. Kim Massey
Overland Park Police Department
Kansas

Violent home invasion, sexual assault solved via LeadsOnline

“A man and a woman were asleep in the living room of their home in Kansas City, Missouri when they awoke to two men in their house. The two victims were pistol whipped, tied up, and the woman raped. The two male suspects took a TV, jewelry, Xbox, and other items from the house after raping and beating the victims. A detective assigned to the case contacted me and asked me to search the LeadsOnline database to see if any of the stolen articles had been taken to a pawnshop. I searched LeadsOnline and located the stolen property in two pawnshops. I responded to the pawnshops, photographed the property, and obtained the names of the suspects and video surveillance of the items being pawned. The suspects were then identified because they had used their identification to pawn the property.

Identifying the suspects of this heinous crime would have been nearly impossible without having the capability to instantly check all of the pawnshop transactions and locate the stolen items taken from this crime, which having LeadsOnline provides me.”

Det. Jeffery Mehrer
Kansas City Police Department
Missouri

Suspect pawns jewelry after murder in Arlington

“There was a capital murder of a well-known figure in the religious community here in Arlington. The detective working the case was able to develop suspect information, but more evidence was needed to tie the suspect to the offense. At the request of the investigating detective, I conducted a suspect search using the LeadsOnline database and found that the suspect had pawned the victim’s jewelry at a pawnshop within walking distance of the murder on the same day as the offense. With this added evidence the suspect was arrested and indicted for capital murder. The suspect pled guilty before the court last week to escape the death penalty. We probably would not have found the victim’s jewelry without LeadsOnline. The fact that the suspect pawned the victim’s jewelry after the offense was discussed at trial. Thanks!”

Det. J.W. McRobbie
Arlington Police Department
Texas

LeadsOnline provides crucial link in homicide

“A body was discovered dumped in the brush alongside a road just inside the city limits. The body was that of a decomposed male. Homicide Detectives with Austin Police were able to identify the victim and they learned the deceased male was missing some jewelry. Homicide detectives traced the whereabouts and acquaintances of the victim and learned that he was probably killed around July 30. Homicide detectives contacted the pawn unit of APD to search any pawn activity to the known associates of the deceased male. I searched the Austin Police pawn records and did not find anything on the two names provided to me. I then logged onto LeadsOnline and searched these same individuals. I found a possible match on one of the subjects. He had pawned four rings at an Action Pawn store in Round Rock, TX on July 30.. This pawn transaction was suspicious to the homicide detectives working the case. They went to the pawn shop and photographed the jewelry that was pawned by the known associate. These photographs were shown to the family of the deceased and they positively identified the jewelry as that belonging to the deceased male.

This positive identification and documentation indicating the pawner selling these items about the time the victim died, has provided a great lead for the detectives to possibly solve this homicide case. This information probably would not have been found without the help of LeadsOnline.”

Det. Joseph Lucas
Austin Police Department
Texas

Nationwide metal theft database solves homicide in less than eight hours

“We began investigating a homicide case. The victim, Jack Markowitz, 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 and discovered that the victim was a buyer and seller of catalytic converters and reported to LeadsOnline. 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. Having a suspect vehicle to look for, investigators began using LeadsOnline to run inquiries on each person that the victim had recent contact with. What investigators discovered cracked the case wide open. A recent transaction of catalytic converters between our newly discovered suspect and the victim showed a photograph of the catalytic converters, as well as the back of the suspect’s black dodge truck and metal cage. Utilizing this information from LeadsOnline helped investigators solve their homicide case in less than eight hours and resulted in a charge of capital murder against the suspect. 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 business lead police to the criminal who took his life. We look forward to continued service with LeadsOnline and hope to attend the conference this year in New Orleans, Louisiana.”

Det. Jonathan Whitfield
Gautier Police Department
Mississippi

Violent robbery leads to victim’s death

“Miami Beach PD called us in reference to suspects wanted in a robbery where the victim, a male in his 60’s, died from the beating and an apparent heart attack. The female suspect would befriend the victim, and then the other subjects would jump him. In this particular case, the suspects made off with a decent amount of jewelry. Once the subjects were located, they admitted to pawning the property, and search of LeadsOnline revealed where the property was, ultimately tying them to the crime. The suspects were charged with felony murder and robbery, with additional charges pending.”

Det. Donald Duhart
Hialeah Police Department
Florida

$180,000 armed robbery solved with LeadsOnline

“We had an armed robbery at a local jewelry store where two suspects stole 85 ladies diamond wedding rings valued at over $180,000. After searching LeadsOnline, I came up with a suspect who pawned 25 ladies diamond wedding rings at three different pawnshops. After going to all three pawnshops and taking photos of the rings, the manager at the jewelry store positively identified the rings and the suspect.”

Detective Ron Turner
Columbus Police Department
Ohio

Stolen property leads police to murderer

“We were notified of a homicide of an elderly woman who lived alone. The victim was brutally stabbed multiple times, and property was stolen from her residence. A search of the LeadsOnline database showed property that was stolen was sold to a pawn shop in Shelbyville. Upon further investigation, enough information was generated to get a search warrant for the person that sold the property. The murder weapon along with other property stolen from the victim’s house was recovered. This homicide case was solved in four days based on information from LeadsOnline and the bad guy will spend many years in a secure facility, or in other words, prison.”

Capt. Bill Dwenger
Shelbyville Police Department
Indiana

Instant hit via LeadsOnline leads police to violent robber

“During the investigation of a violent robbery, a key witness identified the main suspect by first name and phone number only. All local databases were checked with no success in identifying this suspect. Detective Jeff VanderVeer, the lead investigator, requested that I run the phone number through LeadsOnline. This resulted in the identification of the suspect.”

Det. B Clary
City of Federal Way Police Department
Washington

Suspect flees state lines and caught by LeadsOnline

“While working an assault case, the victim stated her car was stolen in a neighboring county, but when it was recovered, none of her belongings were in the vehicle. The victim had a suspect name but did not know who stole her vehicle. The victim provided me with the serial number for her laptop that was in the vehicle when it was stolen. I ran the serial number through LeadsOnline and found where the laptop had been sold across the state line in Tennessee. The person who sold her laptop was the suspect she believed stole her car. I forwarded the information to the detective in the neighboring county who was able to recover the laptop and obtain warrants on the offender. The person who was arrested when the vehicle was recovered was not who the victim suspected of stealing her vehicle. With the laptop being sold in another state, the person who actually stole the vehicle would not have been arrested, and this case would not have been solved without the assistance of LeadsOnline.”

Det. Tim Busby
Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office
Georgia

Suspect arrested for stealing engraved ring during aggravated assault

“While using LeadsOnline, I noticed suspicious activity when a man in his early 20’s sold an engraved ring with the words ’35 years of service’ written on it. I forwarded the descriptors of the ring to our crime analyst in order to run the ring through our database to see if it was reported in any crimes. I was informed the ring was taken during an aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Thanks to LeadsOnline I obtained a photo and all descriptors of the seller for further investigation. After further investigation, the complainant identified the seller as the suspect in the crime, and the male was charged.”

Officer Mayra Seay
Houston Police Department
Texas

LeadsOnline helps secure a life without parole conviction for Capital Murder

“The Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office recently secured a life without parole conviction for a Capital Murder charge. The suspect stole items from the residence and the victim’s items were located using LeadsOnline. This ultimately resulted in the issuance of a Capitol Murder Warrant. The suspect was located in a neighboring county and taken into custody without incident, within 72 hours of the offense.”

Sgt. Corley Weatherford
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office
Texas

Birmingham PD use LeadsOnline to help solve kidnapping and home burglary case

“I was investigating a home invasion robbery and kidnapping where the victim was able to supply the serial number of the item stolen from her. Using LeadsOnline, I located the stolen item in a local shop and determined the identity of the person who sold them. I identified and interviewed the suspect less than 24 hours after the robbery. The defendant was in custody within 72 hours, and the item was returned to the rightful owner. Thanks for your assistance.”

Det. George Montgomery
Birmingham Police Department
Alabama

$40,000 worth of jewelry stolen at gunpoint, suspect arrested with help of LeadsOnline

“A jewelry store in Monroe was robbed at gunpoint. Nearly $40,000 worth of jewelry was stolen during the robbery. During the investigation, I searched LeadsOnline and found my prime suspect’s brother sold a ring at a local secondhand shop. The shop photographed the item, and I identified it as belonging to the jewelers. After getting the ring back, we charged the suspect, and recovered about $12,000 worth of the stolen jewelry in his apartment.”

Det. Morgan Malone
Monroe Police Department
North Carolina

LeadsOnline helps police catch sexual assault suspect

“Detective Virginia Nichols, with the Denton Police Department Crimes Against Children Unit, was investigating a sexual assault of a child case. The suspect had initially contacted the victim via social media. The only identifying information the victim knew was a moniker and a cellular phone number. That phone number was searched through LeadsOnline and we were able to identify the suspect. That suspect was subsequently contacted, he provided a full confession, and was charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.”

Sgt. Michael Behrens
Denton Police Department
Texas

LeadsOnline helps track down murderer

“In April, the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department responded to a death investigation, which turned out to be a double homicide. Upon checking a person of interest on LeadsOnline, detectives discovered the individual had sold a Harley Davidson wallet, which was believed to belong to one of the victims. At the time, detectives believed the suspect was in Jacksonville, FL and were en route to that location. As detectives were preparing to leave for Florida, they discovered the suspect was actually in the Chicago, IL area, where he sold the wallet. Subsequently, detectives were able to track down the suspect, which resulted in his capture.”

Sgt. Darrin Frommeyer
McCracken County Sheriff’s Department
Kentucky

Violent offender behind bars thanks to LeadsOnline

“Our county had a residential burglary occur in July where the homeowner came home and interrupted the crime. The suspect shot six times at the homeowner’s vehicle and then left the scene. Our burglary victim was able to provide a serial number today and we were able to verify that one of our suspects in the violent crime was one that pawned the stolen items the same day as the crime. The offender is a member of a criminal street gang and will be brought to justice soon. Thank you LeadsOnline.”

Sgt. Mike Helton
Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office
Georgia

ecoATM help Newport News Police and U.S. Marshals Service find homicide suspect

“In October, I was asked for assistance by the U.S Marshals Fugitive Task Force to help locate a homicide suspect. The suspect had left the area and the U.S Marshals had run out of places to look. I entered the suspect’s name in LeadsOnline. The search revealed that the suspect had a few entries, but nothing recent. A search, with the help of the associations icon, was entered and revealed a name of a family member. That name was entered into LeadsOnline, which resulted in a recent ecoATM transaction in Northern Virginia. When that transaction was viewed, not only did it show the family member, but the homicide suspect was standing next to him. The transaction had a valid address listed for the family member. Based on the ecoATM transaction, LEO’s in that jurisdiction were notified of the situation and responded to the family members address the next day. The suspect was arrested and transported back to Newport News for prosecution. Without the partnership and technology that LeadsOnline and ecoATM provides, this homicide suspect could have been on the run for a while. This case is one of numerous success stories that the Newport News Police Department could provide to LeadsOnline. The Newport News Police Department is grateful for the hard work and dedication that LeadsOnline provides all Law Enforcement, so that we can have success stories like this one. “There is no greater Love than this, one who will lay down his life for a friend” LEO-FIRE-MILITARY ”

Det. William Nesbitt
Newport News Police Department
Virginia

Oxford Police work with ecoATM and LeadsOnline to solve homicide in first 48

“A dead body was found inside a house because of a welfare concern. No suspect or evidence was found on the scene. We pinged his cellular device to a town 100 miles south of my jurisdiction near a Walmart. We could not find the phone. For two days the phone did not move. I logged onto LeadsOnline and put his ex-lover’s name into LeadsOnline search because the lover was from that town where the cell phone pinged. We also had a recent report of a disturbance between the two in my jurisdiction. Once I searched his name, it showed he sold the cell phone to the ecoATM inside Walmart. Plus, Walmart video showed he drove the automobile of the murder victim to Walmart. The vehicle was stolen after the murder. With this evidence, he confessed.”

Investigator Hardie Meeks
Oxford Police Department
Mississippi

LeadsOnline identifies kidnapping suspect with little information

“We had an aggravated robbery and kidnapping occur with a suspect armed with a handgun. We were able to identify 3 of the 4 suspects and were only provided initials for the unidentified suspect who was the one armed with a handgun. During interviews other suspects advised that the unidentified suspect sold a cell phone in a ecoATM prior to the robbery. A LeadsOnline search identified the armed suspect selling a phone prior to the robbery, thus identifying the suspect and providing video of all suspects together prior to the robbery. The ID led to a warrant being issued for the outstanding suspect for aggravated robbery and kidnapping.”

Sgt. David Adkins
New Lebanon Police Department
Ohio

Ohio masked man cleans out safe; Gets away, then doesn’t

We had a call of an aggravated robbery at cellphone store where two armed masked men tied up the clerk in the back of the store and cleaned out the safe. Both suspects got away however through investigation, I learned that the same suspects had robbed another cellphone store in Warren County. LeadsOnline came in helpful because I had placed an alert on one of the possible suspects and through further investigation found that one of the suspects was in at a business, hours before the Warren County robbery with the same clothing and shoes on. LeadsOnline is a great tool to law enforcement.”

Det. Robbert Johnson
Germantown Police Department
Ohio

LeadsOnline brings back music to victim’s ears after being held at gunpoint

“We had a robbery / carjacking victim provide a serial number for a Gibson Guitar that was in the vehicle when it was taken at gunpoint. The Guitar value was $5,000.00. I entered it into LeadsOnline and obtain an instant hit. I have recovered the victims Guitar from the business within 1 hour of him giving us the serial number. LeadsOnline rocks! Now we have a very good lead on the robbery suspects. Thank you for having such an AWESOME tool for us to use. Thank You ”

Birmingham Police Department
Johnny Brooks
Alabama

Out of state crook couldn’t hide with the help of LeadsOnline

“We had an incident involving a male subject pulling a handgun on a female subject and he threatened to shoot. I was able to locate an address for him and his family in Lenexa, KS via LeadsOnline thanks to him and his mother having sold items at a business in Lenexa within the past year or so. Lenexa Police Department was able to locate him and his vehicle there at the Lenexa address, taking him into custody on a felony warrant for him. A quick search in LeadsOnline greatly helped in locating the suspect.”

Det. Adam Blankenship
Carthage Police Department
Missouri

Shelby County uses LeadsOnline to track down over 2,000 felony warrants

“I uploaded 2,259 felony warrants into the LeadsOnline database earlier this month. The database does everything based off of driver’s license numbers. Since uploading those warrants into the system, multiple hits have started coming in from all over the country. This gives us an idea where our fugitives are. The hits come in the form of an email showing all the information associated. A hit came in on a suspect who was wanted since 2008 on Aggravated Burglary, Theft of Property, and Petition to Revoke Suspended Sentence. This is a Criminal Court Forfeiture warrant, meaning he went through the indictment process and skipped after the fact. The hit showed that he sold sporting equipment at a business in Jefferson City, MO just a day before the search. The record showed he lived at a specific address in Jefferson, MO. The file was reviewed and it was determined that he needed to be placed on NCIC for surrounding states extradition. Jefferson City PD was contacted and they made an attempt at that location. They advised he was no longer living at that address. CLEAR records showed a different address. Officer Skinner went to that location and found the wanted subject. He was taken into custody without incident. We have been receiving a bunch of these hits anywhere from Atlanta to Chicago and as we have the time we are sending those leads off seeking assistance, but this could be a huge victory for us moving forward as this somewhat automates locating fugitives.”

Sgt. Matthew Keaton
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office
Tennessee