“Suspect stole necklace from retail store valued at approximately $2000, ran to his vehicle and fled. Within 15 minutes, officer spotted the vehicle, but the suspect denied ever being in the store, etc. When store security video matched the driver, officers began searching the vehicle for the necklace, while the suspect changed his story continuously about its whereabouts. He first said he dropped it, and then he threw it into a field, etc. We knew it was a long shot, but we entered his name into LeadsOnline and found he had just sold it at an area jewelry store about 18 minutes earlier. (The ink probably wasn’t even dry on the receipt yet!) The amount he was paid was the exact amount of cash he had on him when he was arrested. The store got its necklace back, the pawn store got their money back, and the suspect is still trying to figure out how his stories fell apart so fast!”
Det. Sharon Konfara
Westland Police Department
Michigan