News and Success Stories

Tag Archives: Theft

Wisconsin police end couple’s year-long retail theft ring

“A local retail store contacted our department about a female who was caught stealing Box Sets of DVDs. Upon searching LeadsOnline we discovered she had sold multiple stolen items. We determined her boyfriend had also been stealing and had sold a large quantity of property. These thefts had been going on for over a year. As a result of using LeadsOnline, we were able to recover some of the property, and request restitution for the rest. This minor theft turned out to be a felony theft rather than a municipal citation. LeadsOnline is a tremendous investigative tool, which has benefitted our department greatly. Way to go!”

Sgt. Thomas Schmit
Fitchburg Police Department
Wisconsin

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

Department stores targeted by high end vacuum thief

“I located a Dyson vacuum that was sold about 40 minutes after it was stolen from a Kohl’s Department Store. Information obtained from the transaction led me to the suspect’s friend, who drove him to the Kohl’s Department Store. The suspect was subsequently arrested for burglary and two counts of felony retail theft. This information also helped obtain charges on the same suspect for thefts in surrounding jurisdictions.”

Det. Shaun Knight
Lake Zurich Police Department
Illinois

LeadsOnline makes solving cases easy and fast

“You guys did it again! We had a retail theft that led to a pursuit. The suspect had the wonderful idea to sell to a local business that reports to LeadsOnline. Using your system saved me hours of pawn shop hunting!!”

Det. Jack Shannon
Northlake Police Department
Illinois

Police recover television stolen from local business

“We had a report of a stolen television from a local business, and as the officers were responding, we put the information into LeadsOnline. We received a hit on the stolen television with all the information we needed. Soon after, the officers recovered the TV at the pawn shop and a warrant will be issued for the suspect. Thanks for all that you do and making this possible!”

Dispatcher Kyle Davis
Bentonville Police Department
Arkansas

Suspect uses an alias to charge rented power tools to company account and sell them for cash

“Well I don’t claim to be a Rock Star, but I do have a success story. This is actually a traveling theft suspect who was identified through LeadsOnline. He would go to equipment rental businesses and pose as an employee of a well-known construction business. He would then rent a saw or another expensive tool and have the rental company place the item on the business account. He would fail to bring the equipment back and then pawn the equipment at a local secondhand shop. Investigators had success with tracking his thefts via LeadsOnline. The suspect is a parolee and has numerous warrants from Kansas for violation of his parole and theft. He has committed these thefts in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas. This would not have been determined if it weren’t for Leads. Y’all are the Rock Stars!”

Det. Daniel Robbins
Fayetteville Police Department
Arkansas

Suspect steals copper wiring from employer for quick cash

“The victimized business in this investigation filed a larceny report believing that some of their employees were stealing copper house wire. A list was compiled by the victim and submitted in the initial report. Detective Rios searched through LeadsOnline and found that one of the victim’s employees scrapped a large amount of copper house wire. Detective Rios obtained tickets and photos of each transaction that showed exactly what the suspect sold. The victim identified all the wiring in the photos as wiring the company keeps in stock for their electrical contracting business. The victim reviewed his inventory which showed that the suspect was taking more wire than what was needed for the jobs. It was then determined that the amount of copper wire stolen amounted to $3,581. The suspect then sold/scrapped the same wiring and received a total amount of $1,982. A warrant was issued for the suspect’s arrest for Embezzlement and Obtaining Property by False Pretenses. He was apprehended and invoked his right to remain silent. There is more follow up to conduct regarding possible associates and other thefts.”

Det. Wilbur Oneal
Raleigh Police Department
North Carolina

LeadsOnline helps Ohio police arrest repeat offender known for retail theft

“Using LeadsOnline I became aware that a female, who I arrested last month for stealing, was selling an unusually high number of tools that were ‘new in box’. After sending out her information and photo on a metro area information network, I began receiving emails from businesses who recognized her as being a suspect in multiple thefts.”

Det. Ryan Kiser
Reynoldsburg Police Department
Ohio

Police discover retail thieves and secondhand clerk working together

“While working a burglary case, I found similar items being sold at a local business. Further investigation revealed these were not the items; however, after going back approximately 10 months, it was found this subject and another girl had pawned about $50,000 worth of new items. I was able to determine the Rosetta Stone items had been shipped to a local Target, and while working with their loss prevention, they were able to go back on video and see the suspects on tape stealing these items. After making the arrest on the two suspects, we discovered the pawn shop clerk was also involved, and with the help of Target loss prevention donating items to be sold, we were able to make an arrest on the pawn shop clerk. We recovered approximately $5,000 worth of items that the shop still had.”

Inv. Bryant Hinson
Richland County Sheriff’s Department
South Carolina

$23,000 worth of property recovered for business before they even knew it was stolen

“I was reviewing the results of a search when I noticed one gentleman sold several 1000 lb electric hoists, brand new in the box, at one of our local secondhand stores. A little research on the hoists revealed only one business in the area that sold such equipment. I contacted the business and asked them to conduct a physical inventory of their hoists. A total of nine hoists were missing from the shelves, the exact same number that had been sold at the secondhand store. The person who sold the equipment turned out to be the shipping and receiving manager for the company. He was arrested and charged for the thefts, and the company was able to recover approximately $23,000 worth of inventory they didn’t even know was missing. Without LeadsOnline, the crime might not have been discovered at all, or may have come to light after the property had been liquidated.”

Det. Patrick Sutherland
Toledo Police Department
Ohio

Organized retail theft ring in Alabama now somewhat less organized

“I found my where my suspect sold a large number of brand new Dewalt drills, which were stolen from Lowes. I have also learned that he is a part of a larger theft ring operating throughout two counties. I have recovered approximately $4,000 worth of property just this week alone.”

Det. Wesley Grigsby
Madison Police Investigations
Alabama

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

Organized retail theft cases solved with LeadsOnline and Facebook

“A crime bulletin was sent out from another jurisdiction seeking help in identifying a female accomplice in a series of retail thefts. The bulletin included the male suspect’s name and a clear photo of both suspects. I accessed LeadsOnline and queried the transactions made by the male suspect. Once I saw he had a pawn history, I used LeadsOnline to identify the female suspect. I then went to the female’s Facebook page and there was a photo of the two suspects together! This research only took a few minutes to complete and yielded results. LeadsOnline is an extremely useful tool.”

Det. David Mozell
Lakewood Police Department
Colorado

Pasadena detective catches purse snatcher

“While investigating an Organized Retail Theft case in which a female suspect had stolen multiple purses from multiples of a specific store on several occasions, I was able to identify the suspect. A check of LeadsOnline revealed that she had sold 37 purses at the same business in a month’s time frame. Upon arresting the suspect, she confessed that she had sold all of the purses which she had stolen to the business referenced above. I was ultimately able to seize 29 purses valued at approximately $5,000 which will later be given back to the store they came from.”

Det. Kevin Satterwhite
Pasadena Police Department
Texas

Rash of retail thefts brought to an end with the help of LeadsOnline

“This summer, a major home improvement center was alerted to a person concealing WIFI thermostats on their person and leaving their store. Loss prevention at this chain reviewed video of the incident and determined that the suspect removed two of these high valued thermostats and left the store without paying. We ran a search of the model number and brand of the thermostat and were able to locate the items being sold at a local business via use of LeadsOnline. Upon looking at photos of the offender from the retail store video and the identification provided to the business by the suspect, we were able to identify the individual who stole the items. Upon further checking of transaction records from LeadsOnline we were able to connect the offender with several other jurisdictions and a rash of retail thefts that were committed there as well. Because of LeadsOnline, we were able to link the offender to several thefts across multiple jurisdictions and counties and bring him and others to justice.”

Lt. John Dossey
Hanover Park Police Department
Illinois

Stolen Xbox recovered, thief and child molester identified via LeadsOnline

“Recently I was able to confirm that an Xbox 360 had been sold to a local retail store that had been reported stolen by an adult victim. During the course of this investigation I also learned that one of the adults that took this Xbox from its owner (who was not home at the time) also molested the owner’s minor child who was home at the time of the theft. I able to use the information of the person who sold the Xbox to locate and interview them and eventually get a confession of Theft, Receiving Stolen Property and Sexual Misconduct With a Minor. Thanks for your help LeadsOnline!”

Det. Troy Pesavento
Terre Haute Police Department
Indiana

Shelby County uses LeadsOnline to track down over 2,000 felony warrants

“I uploaded 2,259 felony warrants into the LeadsOnline database earlier this month. The database does everything based off of driver’s license numbers. Since uploading those warrants into the system, multiple hits have started coming in from all over the country. This gives us an idea where our fugitives are. The hits come in the form of an email showing all the information associated. A hit came in on a suspect who was wanted since 2008 on Aggravated Burglary, Theft of Property, and Petition to Revoke Suspended Sentence. This is a Criminal Court Forfeiture warrant, meaning he went through the indictment process and skipped after the fact. The hit showed that he sold sporting equipment at a business in Jefferson City, MO just a day before the search. The record showed he lived at a specific address in Jefferson, MO. The file was reviewed and it was determined that he needed to be placed on NCIC for surrounding states extradition. Jefferson City PD was contacted and they made an attempt at that location. They advised he was no longer living at that address. CLEAR records showed a different address. Officer Skinner went to that location and found the wanted subject. He was taken into custody without incident. We have been receiving a bunch of these hits anywhere from Atlanta to Chicago and as we have the time we are sending those leads off seeking assistance, but this could be a huge victory for us moving forward as this somewhat automates locating fugitives.”

Sgt. Matthew Keaton
Shelby County Sheriff’s Office
Tennessee

Stolen camcorder and a drug bust

“A month ago, LeadsOnline helped me in a theft from a vehicle investigation. My victim reported leaving his vehicle unlocked while he was at a bar celebrating the birth of his new son — he said his wife and new son were at the hospital recuperating…

I quickly found my victim’s Canon camcorder pawned with the assistance of LeadsOnline. I arrested the guy that pawned it. He admitted stealing the camcorder. However, the suspect told me that my victim was not telling the truth about where the camcorder was stolen.

The victim admitted that he and the suspect went to a drug house to get high.”

Det. Scott R. Worth
Creve Coeur Police Department
Missouri

Drug-related theft: solved in seconds

“I investigated a theft report involving $4,000 worth of camera equipment. The day I was assigned to investigate the report, I logged into LeadsOnline and within seconds had my possible theft suspect identified. I call the pawn shop to verify the camera equipment was still there, and then sent them a police hold. I interviewed the suspect and he admitted to stealing the camera equipment because he has a drug addiction. Due to LeadsOnline, this case was solved within a day of the offense occurring.”

Det. Doug Eveslage
Springfield Township
Ohio

Heroin addict admits to jewelry theft

“Last week I was dispatched to a theft of jewelry complaint. Turns out it was a felony (over $3,500 worth). After dealing with the victim I logged onto LeadsOnline and found the suspect pawned the items about an hour after she was at the victim’s house. In the end, I have a solid theft case and admission of heroin use as motivation for the crime. As an added bonus, the suspect is feeding me info on heroin deals in my jurisdiction to show cooperation, which will help her with the DA. Without LeadsOnline info, the suspect would have told me to pound sand!”

Det. Joe Benoit
Omro Police Department
Wisconsin

Suspect selling stolen military items identified in no time

“On Monday I was handed a theft case from my Chief of Police. Someone was selling a military item on eBay that was believed to be stolen. I contacted LeadsOnline and spoke with someone on their support team, while on the phone with him, I was able to look up and identify the suspect. Thanks to this search, I was able to identify my suspect and write a search warrant for the suspect’s residence. To top it off, I recovered two of the stolen military items, and the suspect was in jail the very next day. LeadsOnline streamlined the investigation process with the eBay First Responder Service.”

Det. Bob Hayes
LaVergne Police Department
Tennessee

Speedy customer services helps an Alabama detective track down stolen property

“While investigating numerous thefts, I contacted LeadsOnline because I was unable to run a search through eBay listings to look for stolen property. I use LeasdsOnline on a regular basis; however, I have never conducted a search for user ID info through the eBay search. I emailed LeadsOnline with a question and was contacted almost immediately. The employee explained to me how to get the information I was requesting. I was able to search and pull up all listings for the suspect which included numerous suspected stolen items. I later interviewed the suspect and obtained a confession on how she stole all these items from a local store. I used the listings to verify everything she stole. I was able to recover some of the stolen property and return it to its owner. By using LeadsOnline, I was able to identify numerous other stolen items besides what was originally reported, and then make an arrest.”

Det. Darren Wolters
Normal Police Department
Illinois

Suspect uses victim’s credit card to transfer more than $2,000 to personal account

“LeadsOnline assisted my agency in identifying and arresting a suspect who used a victim’s credit card to transfer over $2,000 to his PayPal account. Using LeadsOnline, I was able to identify the suspect by their username, and later make an arrest.”

Deputy Perry Frith
East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office
Louisiana

LeadsOnline helps identify suspect selling meth in Oregon

“Suspect was arrested after he had been stealing jewelry and pawning it. The suspect had meth, scales, and packaging material in his possession. He admitted to selling and told us how he packaged it for sale. He was charged and lodged for Theft by Receiving six times, Theft I, MCS, DCS, and PCS Meth. Most of the jewelry was recovered.”

Annette Cunningham
Medford Police Department
Oregon