“I was sitting in a briefing when an officer mentioned that a victim had a Rolex stolen from her vehicle. Detectives aren’t typically assigned to a Theft from Auto, but given the specific brand of watch, I thought I’d search LeadsOnline. I got an instant hit with Leads where a Rolex was sold the same day as the theft. A picture of the watch submitted by the shop proved to be helpful, too. I was able to compare that to a picture the victim submitted. I recovered the watch and was able to return it to the victim. She is a law school student who had borrowed her mother’s watch. The watch had been in their family for 20 years. She was extremely thankful for getting it back. I did some additional follow up with the suspect in this case and have since used LeadsOnline to connect him to another burglary in the same area as the Theft from Auto. He sold watches and some computer equipment from one burglary to the same shop. I recovered video from the shop to then do a search warrant on the suspect’s vehicle, which gave me items from two other burglaries. The suspect was on probation for burglary so he’s been in jail since. Thanks LeadsOnline.”
Det. Taya Dolsen
Madison Police Department
Wisconsin