News and Success Stories

Tag Archives: Serial Number

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

Firearm recovered 29 years after burglary

“Detective Whittington was informed through a LeadsOnline hit that a Ruger .44 Maginum pistol stolen in a home burglary in 1982 may have been located at a local pawn shop. Detective Whittington contacted the shop owner who said that the firearm was at the store and he would place a hold on it if it was identified by the owner. Contact was then made with the original owner who had the firearm stolen in the burglary. He was able to provide the serial number from paperwork he had kept. The shop provided Detective Whittington with the name of who pawned the firearm. Detective Whittington was able to contact him. He was informed of the situation and advised detectives that he purchased the firearm two years ago from another local pawn shop. Thanks to this information, the owner was able to pay and get the firearm back.”

Lt. William Grimes
Lawton Police Department
Oklahoma

Gun stolen 16 years ago found via LeadsOnline

“I just wanted to let you know that I recovered another pistol. The Smith and Wesson model 39-2 was reported stolen from Clinton County, Michigan in 1996. I used the NCIC function to search other ORI for possible hits. This pistol was pawned on 05-11-2012 and I got a hit on the serial number the next day. Any agency that does not use the LeadsOnline program is overlooking a lot of stolen property! Thanks for the great work!”

Det. Fred McKown
Elko Police Department
Nevada

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

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

LeadsOnline helps solve cases without any leads

“I just have to say, LeadsOnline is an essential tool if you are investigating property crimes. To date I have been able to recover stolen property ranging from firearms, jewelry, electronics, and so much more. There have been times in my investigations where there is no physical evidence to go off of, which we all know happens a lot. LeadsOnline has helped me solve cases that otherwise would have never gone anywhere. As soon as I’m assigned a new case, the first thing I do is search the serial number; or description on LeadsOnline. You guys have become such an important asset. Thank you!”

Inv. Cayce Hampton
Henderson County Sheriff’s Office
Texas

Fayette County detective makes an arrest with the help of LeadsOnline

“I received a report that a gun was taken from a vehicle. I checked some names and serial numbers through LeadsOnline and received a positive hit. I was able to retrieve the gun and issued an arrest warrant. ”

Det. Walter Watson
Fayette County Sheriff’s Office
Georgia

Local subdivision targeted by crook in several thefts

“There had been several thefts reported in a local subdivision. The items stolen included tools, guns and some mowers. The victims did not have serial numbers on most of the stolen items. By looking up just the name brands of the stolen items in LeadsOnline, we were able to match larceny dates with similar type name brands and items being sold. The suspect was put under surveillance, was arrested and confessed to several of the thefts in the area. Victims were able to go to the businesses and identify their stolen tools. Thanks LeadsOnline!”

Inv. Melanie Bibens
Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office
Virginia

Kansas police use LeadsOnline as a tool to catch retail thief

“I was assigned a theft case for follow up. The store provided surveillance video of the male suspect walking out of the store with merchandise that was not paid for. The store had no serial number information, and the store video was not clear enough to make a positive Identification from the suspect’s face. A store employee was able to provide us with a license plate on the suspect’s vehicle. I ran the tag, and the registered owner was a female, and not our suspect from the video. I used an online police resource to find names of known associates to the vehicle owner. I located one who was similar to the suspect in the surveillance video. I searched LeadsOnline for the name and found this person sold the same types of items reported stolen in another jurisdiction. The business supplied us with photographs of the suspect who sold the property, and he was wearing the same shirt as he was in the store surveillance video when the item was stolen.”

Det. Matthew Nickel
Leavenworth Police Department
Kansas

Law enforcement cleaning up with LeadsOnline

“We received a retail theft report from a business in which an unknown offender walked out of the store with three Dyson Vacuums. Their loss and prevention department provided us with the serial numbers for the stolen vacuum cleaners. A LeadsOnline search showed the vacuum cleaners were sold at a pawn shop located 25 miles away from our town. The offender was currently out on bond for committing a similar retail theft in another jurisdiction.”

Det. Chris Allen
Plainfield Police Department
Illinois

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

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

LeadsOnline helps police solve case in less than a week

“Sinclair Community College Police Department was holding a training class on how to use LeadsOnline. During this training, we used a case that involved a stolen tablet that occurred two weeks prior. While we were in training we used the serial number and model number that was provided to officers during the initial theft report. We were shown how to enter the serial and model numbers to see if we could locate any transaction tickets matching the information that we entered. We were also shown how to search for an item by using only partial serial and model numbers. When partial numbers were used we got a total of 15 tickets. While looking through the tickets there was one that stood out to me because it was only a few miles away from our college. We discovered that when you sell an item, the store makes a copy of your driver’s license and puts that information into LeadsOnline. Now having the name of a possible suspect, I determined that the person who sold the tablet was also a student at the college and attended class in the same location that the tablet theft occurred. I retrieved the tablet from the business, and was able to track down the suspect. Exactly one week later on, the suspect agreed to come to the police department and speak with me. After 20 minutes of interviewing him he broke down and confessed to stealing the tablet and selling it to support his heroin addiction. The suspect was arrested and charged with theft and receiving stolen property. Thanks to LeadsOnline, we solved a theft case in one week’s time. If not for LeadsOnline this case would have never been solved. Thanks!”

Officer Joshua Cox
Sinclair Police Department
Ohio

Small law enforcement agency budget eased by using LeadsOnline

“I work for The University of Texas System Police at one of the smaller components. As such we have very limited resources. Beginning in the fall semester, we started experiencing a string of thefts with no suspects or leads. I heard about your service from another agency. The idea seemed better than thumbing through pawn tickets. I signed up for your 30-day free trial. We recently had four musical instruments stolen. I put in the serial number for the first instrument; no success. I put in the serial number for the second instrument; I found a match (I checked three times because I couldn’t believe it). Then I found another match. I even found, through the keyword search, the first instrument. (The Music Department had given me an incomplete serial number.) In total, I found 3 out of the 4 instruments for a recovery of $3,000. This one recovery will pay for 3 years service with money left over. Once I had the suspect’s name, I found he had pawned 24 instruments in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and all over Texas. Through regular channels, I found two outstanding felony warrants from Nebraska and South Carolina. LeadsOnline will surely help recover tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hopefully it will also enhance the penalties for this professional thief. Let me say thanks. If not for the free trial, I would be chasing my tail forever.”

Officer Mark Pierce
University of Texas System Police
Texas

Cases solved on campus moments after joining LeadsOnline

“I just registered on this site and already solved one of my cases. This is a great tool for all police agencies. I would recommend this for any case dealing with serial numbers. 100 thumbs up!”

Sgt. Victor Griffin
University of Alabama – Birmingham
Alabama

College student’s stolen laptop recovered; Spring Hill Police get an A+

“In April, I was advised of a missing laptop from a student on campus. The student was able to provide the make, model, and serial number of the missing computer. After filing a report from the student and talking with all the suspects that could have possibly taken the computer. I did a check of the computer at LeadsOnline which came up negative. I then saved the computer information for later activity on the item at local pawn shops. A month later I received an email advising me that the item had been sold at a local pawn shop. The information was used to obtain a confession and guilty verdict on the suspect. Thanks!”

Lieutenant David McLeod
Spring Hill Police Department
Alabama

Suspects use stolen credit cards to buy and sell items for cash

“I used LeadsOnline to successfully arrest two burglars. They were using stolen credit cards to purchase electronics and were turning around to sell them for cash. I knew the identities of the suspects, and I conducted queries on both of them on LeadsOnline. I discovered they were selling a large amount of computer related items. Those items were seized from the shops, and I traced the serial numbers back to the stores where they were purchased. I discovered they were bought with credit cards that were stolen in recent burglaries.”

Det. Jason Cirbo
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
Colorado