News and Success Stories

Automated hit from online investigations system locates a stolen shotgun

“I received an NCIC hit for a stolen shotgun from a November 2009 burglary in Greenville, South Carolina. I was able to confirm the shotgun as the correct shotgun from the burglary, and I contacted the shop in Greenville to place a hold on the shotgun. Investigator Perron with Greenville County Sheriff’s Department assisted me in recovering the shotgun, which was turned back to the victim. This has been my first NCIC hit recovery through Leads.”

Det. Phil Tripp
Rock Hill Police Department
South Carolina

Automated reports return hit on gun stolen six years ago

“I received an NCIC Potential Hit on a stolen gun that was pawned at a local gun shop. I was able to verify this was a gun that was stolen in 2007 from Mountain Brook. I seized the gun and returned it to the owner. This would not have been possible without the information from LeadsOnline. Thanks!”

Det. Don Garrett
Mountain Brook Police Department
Alabama

Firearms recovered years after being stolen

“I just recovered a firearm from a 1994 burglary in Pocatello, Idaho. The Leads hit occurred after it was sold to a shop here in Clovis, California. The weapon was recovered and confirmed stolen. The person who sold the weapon said she purchased it from a now deceased friend in 2003 in Idaho. The weapon was returned to its rightful owner in Pocatello.”

Det. Curtis Shurtliff
Clovis Police Department
California

Rifle stolen in 1971 recovered over 30 years after crime

“We got a hit on a Marlin Rifle that was stolen in 1971. I went to Taylor and recovered it.”

Officer Daniel McCulley
Livonia Police Department
Michigan

Four stolen guns recovered multiple states away

“We have used LeadsOnline for a couple of years now. Using the system, I have recovered several stolen items including a flat screen TV, chainsaws, weed eaters and four stolen guns… some as far away as Texas! It’s a great tool.”

Det. Gary Barton
Reynolds County Sheriff’s Office
Missouri

Virginia police locate stolen firearm five hours away with help of LeadsOnline

“Within 20 minutes of receiving the free trial I tracked down a stolen firearm from a case I was working in 2010. It was in a business five hours away. There was never any information connecting the property to the city it was located in, so your product was extremely beneficial in the recovery.”

Sgt. Scott Moye
Giles County Sheriff’s Office
Virginia

Stolen firearm recovered after burglary

“On the day that I was assigned a burglary, I located one of the weapons reported as stolen and recovered them. More guns out of the hands of a bad guy!”

Det. James Melson
Fort Smith Police Department
Arkansas

LeadsOnline provides the link law enforcement need to get the arrest

“I located and recovered a stolen pistol from a business in Columbia, South Carolina. The pistol was entered by the business, and using a search of the subjects name I was able to link him to the burglary where the gun was stolen.”

Det. Stephen Collins
Lexington County Sheriff’s Department
South Carolina

Police recover firearm originally stolen in 2007

“We had an old case from 2007 involving a stolen firearm. Garrison from LeadsOnline notified me a few months ago that there was a possible hit on a serial number that had been entered in our county. I checked and one of the potential hits was a match to a firearm that was from the 2007 report. The firearm had just surfaced at a secondhand dealer a couple towns over from ours. The firearm was recovered and returned to the owner. The owner of the firearm is an elderly gentleman and his health is progressively getting worse. The owner’s wife said it was a real ‘pick me up’ when her husband learned he was getting his firearm back seven years after it was stolen. Thanks LeadsOnline for all you do! ”

Inv. Sgt. Craig Brown
Titus County Sheriff’s Office
Texas

LeadsOnline proves successful in returning stolen firearms

“I used LeadsOnline to perform a search for two stolen guns, which led to recovery of those weapons. I performed a name search on a possible suspect to locate the weapons. The weapons have been confiscated for evidence, and the case is now proceeding to prosecution. NO other evidence was found at the crime scene, and only LeadsOnline produced the evidence I needed to name a suspect.”

Det. Matthew Howe
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office
Michigan

Suspect arrested for selling stolen firearms in neighboring jurisdiction

“A residential burglary was committed within our county where two Remington 870 Shotguns were stolen. A LeadsOnline search was conducted, and it revealed that our suspect sold the two shotguns at a business in a town 30 miles away. The guns were recovered, and statements and video from the shop provided added evidence which was used to obtain an arrest warrant for the suspect. He was arrested and is currently awaiting trial for the felony charge of Burglary of a Residence.”

Deputy Sheriff David Blackwell
Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
Mississippi

Stolen firearm from 1986 home burglary recovered in Kentucky

“I was reviewing our NCIC hits and noticed a stolen shotgun was sold in Richmond, Kentucky. The transaction described an Ithaca model 37, 12-gauge shotgun, with a specific serial number. The NCIC listed the original case to Milford Police Department (Michigan). I read the original report which was listed as a home invasion that occurred in 1986 in the Township of Milford. Upon comparing the pawn information against that of a shotgun taken during the incident, I realized they were the same. I contacted the business in Kentucky and requested a hold. I also contacted Richmond PD and an investigator with that department verified the shotgun in the shop was the one stolen in 1986. The shotgun was subsequently recovered. There was no indication the current owner of the shotgun had knowledge of the home invasion.”

Sgt. Scott Tarasiewicz
Milford Police Department
Michigan

Georgia police hail LeadsOnline as the best crime fighting tool

“Another case solved thanks to LeadsOnline. I was assigned a case involving a vehicle break-in. All leads were exhausted and the case was placed on inactive status. While doing my daily LeadsOnline review, I received an NCIC hit for our agency. The hit was for a firearm that had been stolen out of the vehicle in my case. The firearm was recovered, returned to the owner and an arrest was made. This would not have been possible without LeadsOnline. This is the best crime fighting tool and service for property crime investigators that I have come across in my 24 year career in law enforcement.”

Inv. Steve Kimbel
Madison County Sheriff’s Office
Georgia

Starting the New Year on a high note thanks to LeadsOnline

“A shotgun was reported stolen the day after Christmas and was sold before the start of the new year. Thanks to LeadsOnline, we were able to arrest the suspect on multiple felony charges and recovered the shotgun. Thanks Leads Online!”

Sgt. David Jackson
Trent Woods Police Department
North Carolina

Stolen rifle missing since 1983 retrieved thanks to LeadsOnline

“Surry County Sheriff’s Office located a Ruger Carbine 44 magnum rifle in Winston Salem. I assisted in the recovery and was shocked to learn the gun had been stolen since 1983. Simply amazing that something could be stolen almost longer than I have been alive and then located. Simply awesome. Without LeadsOnline, this would not have been located. Thank you.”

Investigator Michael Griffith
Winston Salem Police Department
North Carolina

LeadsOnline recovers meaningful item for victim

“In January, I was conducting my NCIC audit in LeadsOnline. I found a firearm had been sold in a neighboring county which had been flagged. After pulling the Microfiche, I confirmed the firearm as being stolen. I contacted the business and put a hold on the firearm. In February, I recovered the stolen firearm from the neighboring police agency which had picked up the gun for me. This firearm was stolen in 1984 and for the last 32 years it had been owned by several people. The victim was contacted and we learned her Grandfather had given her the gun when she turned 19 years of age. After she picked up the gun from our facility she was extremely happy to have such a sentimental item back after all these years. Another great example how LeadsOnline is a valuable tool for law enforcement.”

Firearm found in adjoining city using LeadsOnline

“I’m an officer with the Austin Police Department in Arkansas. While combing through our recent property theft reports, I found a stolen firearm in a business in an adjoining city. The firearm’s owner couldn’t thank us enough. We love LeadsOnline!”

Officer Michael Henson
Austin Police Department
Arkansas

LeadsOnline and Benton County detective working hard to bring the community together

“One other detective and I attended the LeadsOnline Metal Theft Investigation Training located at the Bentonville Police Department in Northwest Arkansas. Along with the LeadsOnline representative, special agents with the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office presented the material aimed at assisting law enforcement with metal theft investigations. Detective Srader and I had already utilized the LeadsOnline program to assist in solving many crimes committed within and outside of our jurisdiction. Having thought we knew most of what we needed to know about the program, we quickly realized we were mistaken. The LeadsOnline program can be utilized in more ways than we had originally thought. Detective Srader and I are tasked with investigating the majority of the property crimes within our county and we have two main goals. The first of which is to recover the stolen property and return it to the owner and the second is the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.

Last month, we began utilizing the LeadsOnline system to track down stolen items that had previously been entered into NCIC. Prior to the training received two months ago, Detective Srader and I were unaware that NCIC entries were uploaded into LeadsOnline and would be displayed if the items were sold. After manually looking through several entries involving our jurisdiction, we came across a bolt action rifle that had been reported stolen in 2003. Further investigation revealed the home of the owner was burglarized that year. An investigation never ensued as there was no evidence or leads at that time. In fact, little information was obtained from that investigation because the sheriff’s office had changed their software. The dispatchers that were contacted to confirm the NCIC entry were forced to manually look through old files to find the entry form. Ultimately, we were able to make contact with owner and informed him the rifle had been sold at a business in Springdale, Arkansas earlier this year. During our conversation with the owner, he was in disbelief. Not only had we located his stolen gun but he was amazed that we were still trying to investigate a burglary case from 2003. The owner further stated the rifle contained much sentimental value as it had been passed down through his family and was eventually given to him. The rifle was seized from the business and provided to the owner two days after it was sold. Once again, the owner was in disbelief and was actually speechless as we provided the rifle to him.

I am writing this letter to thank all persons involved with the aforementioned training. Even though they were not present during this investigation, they played a significant role as the owner’s rifle would have never been located without their help. It is cases such as these that help bring communities together and strengthen the bond between law enforcement agencies and the citizens they’ve sworn to serve.”

Det. Scott Sullivan
Benton County Sheriff’s Office
Arkansas

Another firearm recovered and returned with NCIC, LeadsOnline, and Portland Police

“We received an NCIC hit on a rifle sold in a neighboring city. I checked the rifle and was able to positively identify it as the stolen one which was reported in 2013 after being taken from a vehicle. The rifle was recovered and returned to the owner. After interviewing the person who had sold the rifle it was found that he had purchased the gun several years ago at a gun show.”

Det. Travis Wiesman
Portland Police Department
Texas

New Mexico detective follows the trail leading to the offender

“The Los Lunas Police Department had a call at a local residence for an aggravated burglary where several musical instruments were stolen along with two handguns. A LeadsOnline search for the musical instruments showed that two instruments, a saxophone and a piano accordion, were sold in Albuquerque. The items were recovered which led us to the person who sold the items and that person led detectives to the actual offender of the burglary. A search warrant was served on the offender’s residence where one of the stolen firearms was recovered, the offender was charged for the stolen firearm as well as other charges.”

Det. Sgt. John Valdez
Los Lunas Police Department
New Mexico

Can’t sweep this evidence under the rug

“A street sweeper and trailer were reported stolen in our county. The suspect sold it the same day. The ordinance requires a photo be taken of the person, vehicle and item being sold. It also requires a fingerprint. With that evidence we were able to identify the suspect, recover the street sweeper and file a criminal case. The suspect used a friend’s driver’s license instead of his own, but the photo and fingerprint identified the real suspect. The ordinance also requires the information be made available to law enforcement the same day as the sale. The street sweeper was recovered before it could be sold or destroyed; a recovery value of $5,000. Prior to the ordinance and LeadsOnline documentation, we could not solve this type of case or recover property.”

Lt. Mark Sanderson, LCC
Collin County Sheriff’s Office
Texas

Quick clearance on metal theft case

“There were several items stolen from some property in Cleveland County. Three days later, Deputy Chance Dodson found the property at a scrap yard by using LeadsOnline. All the property was recovered and three of the four suspects have been arrested. LeadsOnline is a great tool for law enforcement.”

Investigator Josh Bolland
Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department
Arkansas

You like apples? How do you like these apples? Behind bars, because that’s where you’re going

“In December of 2011, a Breaking and Entering occurred at an electric substation. The power transformer unit owned by the City of North Little Rock, Ark., was forcibly entered by a suspect in an effort to acquire the copper bushings located within the transformer. The suspect caused $345,000 worth the damage, and fled the scene with a significant amount of copper. A quick search of LeadsOnline allowed me to identify the items stolen from the substation, and the suspect was quickly identified. Without the help of LeadsOnLine we could not have found and recovered crucial evidence within hours of the incident. LeadsOnLine continues to be an incredible source of information and an asset to law enforcement officials everywhere.”

Det. John Desizlets
North Little Rock Police Department
Arkansas

Tracking transactions just a few hours after the theft can speed up your case solving process

“Earlier this year, an individual reported that $3150 of steel support beams were stolen from a business. According to LeadsOnline the suspect sold all the beams within a few hours of the theft at a local recycling business. Pictures of the suspect with the unique beams were obtained. The beams were all recovered and the suspect was charged.”

Sgt. Ted Conlon
Gwinnett County Police Department
Georgia

$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

Suspect arrested after stealing multiple vacuums from local stores

“I was informed by the patrol division that a local store in town had reported a suspect for stealing Dyson vacuum cleaners valued at $600 on 3 separate dates. I was also informed by the store loss prevention team that the same suspect had also committed similar thefts at stores in several other towns around the area. I used LeadsOnline to search for Dyson vacuums around the area and located several vacuums sold around the dates of each theft. During the investigation, several suspects were developed from the LeadsOnline reports. I was able to track down several of the suspects to interview them, and they admitted they received the items from a ‘friend’ who had asked them to sell them. A positive ID was made on the ‘friend’ and arrest warrants were obtained. The offender and his accomplice were taken into custody and charged with over 16 felony charges of burglary and theft. The LeadsOnline website was vital to this investigation and a majority of the items stolen were recovered and returned to the store.”

Patrol Michael Bush
Mundelein Police Department
Illinois

Several burglaries solved in Fernandina Beach with LeadsOnline

“I was assigned a case regarding a burglary to an auto repair/auto sales business. Through my investigation, I developed a person of interest. This person was not from the local area, and I had no way of proving he was in the area during the time of the burglary… until I searched LeadsOnline! I was able to solve my burglary, as well as several other burglaries utilizing LeadsOnline. The suspect was in town the day of the burglary selling stolen items from a different burglary that occurred in a different jurisdiction. I recovered stolen tools in both my case and the other agency’s case. Thanks LeadsOnline!”

Det. Michael Mazuryk
Fernandina Beach Police Department
Florida

Tools stolen from local businesses and recovered

“While working a local business burglary case where tools were stolen, we checked LeadsOnline and saw that a local person sold tools at two businesses in Salina, Kansas. I contacted the shops and went over to look at the tools that were sold to them. At both shops, it was determined that the tools were the same tools stolen from the business. All the tools were collected, and with evidence from LeadsOnline, the suspect confessed and pled. Thanks!”

Inv. Toby Osburn
Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department
Kansas

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

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

News and Success Stories

Tag Archives: Recovered