News and Success Stories

Tag Archives: Charleston

A break in a cold case of missing guns and a motorcycle

“On Aug. 18, 2011, a victim of a breaking and entering reported that several guns and a motorcycle were taken from his storage facility. On Aug. 30, 2011, I located via LeadsOnline, a matching description of one of the guns taken. Looking further into the LeadsOnline report, the model, serial, and incident all matched resulting in a break in a case that would have otherwise been cold. This case would not have been solved without LeadsOnline. Thank you!”

Det. J.D. Koerber
Charleston Police Department
West Virginia

Helping solve a case in just a few hours

“I was assigned a case in reference to several firearms and electronics stolen from a residence in Charleston, WV. The victim stated that he was unsure of who may have taken the items and had no suspect information. I was able to obtain intelligence from other family members that his son-in-law was having financial problems and has been recently pawning items. At this point, I entered the son-in-law’s name into LeadsOnline and immedaiately located all of the stolen items. In addition, this allowed me to later interview the suspect and achieve a confession. Furthermore, thanks to LeadsOnline, I was able to solve my case within hours of being assigned.”

Det. Jamey Noland
Charleston Police Department
Criminal Investigation Division
West Virginia

West Virginia police recover 67 stolen firearms using LeadsOnline

“We were able to recover approximately 67 firearms valued at approximately $20,000 and jewelry valued at $2,500. These items were taken from one residence and pawned over two months. Based on the information gained from having LeadsOnline, we are able to recover most of the firearms and jewelry for the victim in this incident. The monetary amounts mentioned were the total given to the suspects in this case from the pawn shops. If we did not have LeadsOnline we probably would not have been able to recover these items. The victim was extremely happy that we were able to locate his items. We here at the Charleston Police Department Criminal Investigation Division are very pleased with LeadsOnline.”

Det. D.L. Workman
Charleston Police Department
West Virginia

Pawnshops and law enforcement working together to solve crimes

“For the past 15 years Chavela Simmons, the owner of All-N-One Pawn shop in Kanawha City, has enforced strict guidelines when a customer comes in with something to pawn or sell. We’ve always done paperwork even if we buy a DVD for 50 cents or a dollar … it doesn’t matter,” Simmons said. “We take the person’s ID, write it up, and it goes to the city of Charleston.” And she’s taking another step to help protect her business by signing up for LeadsOnline, a national database that the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department and the Charleston Police Department subscribe to — to track stolen items. “It can make a huge difference in recovering stolen property and getting people to justice that are doing the break ins,” Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford said. Signing up for the online program may soon become mandatory for any second-hand shop in the county if the “pawn shop ordinance” passes. Simmons’ shop is one of several in the area that are ahead of the game. “I think it’s going to be easier at the end of the day,” Simmons said. “We do our books and close it out. It’s just going to be one click, and everybody will have access to it.” All it means for Simmons is swapping out paper for a computer screen. It’s a move she hopes will save her shop money and trouble. The ordinance would not only include places like pawn shops and second-hand stores, but also scrapyards to help put a dent in copper theft. Since 2009, Rutherford says almost 100 stolen items have been tracked down in the county because of LeadsOnline. Forty-eight of those items were guns.”

Kanawha county Sheriff’s Department
West Virginia

Guns stolen from pawn shop “grab and go” recovered and lead to closure of other burglaries

“While conducting my daily check of LeadsOnline reports, I noticed a potential hit for a stolen handgun. I also noticed that this handgun was reported to the Sheriff’s Office as being stolen from another pawn shop three days prior. I found that the suspect is also convicted felon. News reported that two subjects did a “grab and go” theft at a gun store, stealing an AR-15. The suspect pawned this stolen rifle at a pawn shop three hours after the theft. I recovered both weapons, and both suspects have been charged in federal court for being felons in possession of firearms and theft from an FFL. During the interviews, several unsolved robberies and burglaries were solved, just based off of a stolen firearm being pawned. Thanks LeadsOnline!”

Det. J.F. Taylor
Charleston Police Department
West Virginia

Hit on stolen firearms reveals convicted felon as the suspect

“LeadsOnline, you are the greatest!!! In early February, I was working on cases of weapons stolen in our city where the serial numbers were not reported. I made contact with a victim of a breaking and entering to an auto that occurred back in July. The victim had a $2,000 competition style gun stolen, and he provided the serial number to me. I immediatley did a search on LeadsOnline and showed that the stolen gun was sold in January. I recovered the gun and found out that the person who sold the gun is a convicted felon for drugs and was just been released from parole! Now this case is being handled by the Feds! Thanks LeadsOnline!!”

Det. Jarl Taylor
Charleston Police Department
West Virginia

$10,000 organized crime solved

“I was recently assigned a case where a male and female were observed on video possibly stealing high valued items from Cabelas. Both individuals were identified through media resources. After learning the identities of the two, a simple check through LeadsOnline was done. During the check, over $10,000 of property was identified to as being pawned by the two individuals at multiple pawn shops. Most of the items were recovered and returned to the store. During both suspects interviews they confessed and provided the name of a third individual. Once the third person was identified, the store located surveillance video of the person stealing items from the store as well. A check through LeadsOnline was done on the third individual, revealing several items of stolen property being pawned. All three suspects have been charged with multiple felonies and over $10,000 of stolen property had been recovered and returned to the store.”

Det. Eric Tipton
Charleston Police Department
West Virginia

Several stolen GoPro cameras recovered and returned to West Virginia retail store

“I was contacted by a local retail store about several GoPro cameras that were missing. Using LeadsOnline, I searched for recently sold GoPro Camera’s. I found the name of a suspect associated with selling GoPro cameras who also had a history of stealing. I ran his history using LeadsOnline and eventually recovered over $8,000 worth of merchandise. I am currently working with other local stores and may be able to recover several thousand dollars worth of stolen merchandise, which I suspect was stolen by my suspect. Thanks for a great tool to help us recover victim’s valuables.”

Det. Wesley Daniels
Charleston Police Department
West Virginia