News and Success Stories

Tag Archives: Tool

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

LeadsOnline and ecoATM help identify a jewelry shoplifter

“I was investigating an incident involved shoplifting numerous pieces of jewelry valued at over $200. The victim had security cameras and decent footage of the female suspect. The victim was able to obtain the license plate number of the vehicle the suspect left in, which belonged to a male. Through my investigation, I was able to find a female matching the description of the suspect. Initially, the only pictures I could find of the female were old, making it difficult to identify her as the suspect in the incident. Through LeadsOnline, I was able to find a recent pawn by the female in which she sold a cell phone at ecoATM. Because ecoATM takes pictures of the individuals, I now had an updated photograph which led to identifying the suspect. LeadsOnline has been an invaluable investigative tool, not only for finding stolen items but personal information on potential suspects, photographs, and current information. Thank you.”

Det. Calvin Beveridge
Chesapeake Police Department
Virginia

LeadsOnline proves invaluable to Missouri police

“Our officers responded to an apartment complex after tools were reported stolen. The theft was a felony amount, and they suspected a former employee. During my investigation, I used LeadsOnline and located the same tools that had been pawned. The investigation revealed their suspicions were accurate. The former employee pawned the tools because he was homeless and living out of his car. Because of LeadsOnline, I was able to place a hold on the items and recover them for the victim. The suspect was taken into custody, and provided a full confession when confronted with all of the facts, including the LeadsOnline record! The property was returned to the victim. Using LeadsOnline, I was able to clear a case, obtain a confession, have warrants issued, and return the stolen items to the victim, all within two days! LeadsOnline proved invaluable in this case!”

Det. Geoffrey Schultz
Creve Coeur Police Department
Missouri

Suspect arrested after renting and selling tools from five separate rental businesses

“Just wanted to pass along another success story. I’m finishing the investigation on a case that started out with my suspect renting equipment from a tool rental business and then never returning it. Thanks to LeadsOnline, I found the suspect sold the equipment to a pawn shop the same day he rented it. The suspect was having the equipment charged to the state of Indiana. After checking further, I found that he sold equipment that he rented from five other equipment businesses over a period of a month. Due to LeadsOnline, we have been able to recover almost all of the equipment with a total value of nearly $30,000. Great work on your guys’ part, and thanks for having a great resource for us to use.”

Det. Larry Craciunoiu
Indianapolis Police Department
Indiana

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

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

Suspect caught selling stolen items from local home improvement stores and Walmarts

“I was doing an extensive background check on a suspect that was selling brand new drills. The drills were stolen from several home improvement stores in our city. The stores were not aware of the larcenies until I made them aware of the situation. The estimated cost of the drills were $5,000 and I also noticed that the suspect was selling brand new Samsung cameras, Toshiba hard drives, 15 wireless routers, and several computer keyboards. Those items were stolen from our local Walmart stores and they also did not know the items were stolen until we notified them. All the property that was sold by the suspect was recovered and the suspect was charged and eventually convicted. I feel that LeadsOnline is a very useful tool and I have closed several other cases using Leads.”

Det. John Alexander
Greensboro Police Department
North Carolina

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

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

Bank robber identified by Colorado detective

“Longmont Police Department’s Community Service Officer / Detective Beth Buchholtz has the primary duty of conducting pawn investigations using LeadsOnline as a major tool in these investigations. She recently viewed the surveillance photos from a bank robbery and realized the suspect was a person who she knew had been making a large number of pawn transactions. She passed this information on to the robbery detective. Additional follow up was conducted by other detectives; an arrest warrant was obtained for and an arrest made of the person CSO Buchholtz identified. Not only is Beth adept at conducting pawn investigations she learns the “players” in Longmont and in this case was able to assist in the arrest of the bank robbery suspect.”

Sgt. Joel Post
Longmont Police Department
Colorado

LeadsOnline brings back music to victim’s ears after being held at gunpoint

“We had a robbery / carjacking victim provide a serial number for a Gibson Guitar that was in the vehicle when it was taken at gunpoint. The Guitar value was $5,000.00. I entered it into LeadsOnline and obtain an instant hit. I have recovered the victims Guitar from the business within 1 hour of him giving us the serial number. LeadsOnline rocks! Now we have a very good lead on the robbery suspects. Thank you for having such an AWESOME tool for us to use. Thank You ”

Birmingham Police Department
Johnny Brooks
Alabama

Narcotics task force cracks down on meth abuse

“I am part of an 8-person multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force that has jurisdiction in both Arkansas and Texas. We have focused our efforts on individuals that are “smurfing” pseudoephedrine pills for area methamphetamine cooks. With the use of LeadsOnlabs we have successfully been able to compile several conspiracy cases involving an astronomical number of individuals, both the individuals “smurfing” pills and the cooks themselves. Also, during these investigations we have been able to contact other drug task force agencies with information gained through our investigations which have led to several seizures of methamphetamine labs.

Out of all the surveillance equipment, hi-tech gadgets, and other items we use in our daily efforts to fight the war on drugs, LeadsOnlabs by far is one of the greatest tools at our disposal. In fact, we are currently in the process of attempting to get our pharmacies in the state of Texas on board with your system. Thanks for all your work.”

Sgt. Devin Warner
Bi-State Narcotics Task Force

Stolen items, car break-ins, and drug Arrests

“We had a rash of car break-ins and stolen vehicles. One of the vehicles was recovered in the city of Norwood with a subject passed out inside the car. While working with the Norwood Detectives, they decided to run some of the property that was stolen out of both our jurisdictions.

Eventually, we made the connection that several people were connected in the car break-ins and all participants were heroin addicts trying to support their habit.

We actually had another suspect with the group, but were unable to get him to cooperate. However, we were able to link him to a burglary in Madeira months later, thanks to LeadsOnline, by locating some tools that were sold at a pawn shop in Newport, Kentucky.

At this time, the Madeira Police Department has closed several cases with the assistance of LeadsOnline. It has been a great tool and I am looking forward to using it in the future.”

Det. Eric B. Hoeffel
Madeira Police Department
Ohio

LeadsOnline used to find crime traveler in Georgia

“The Autauga County Sheriff’s Office received an unusual telephone call reporting narcotics related activity in a neighborhood. The caller, as it turns out, gave false information about himself and his motive for calling. The suspect, “John Smith”, had purported himself as an undercover police officer resulting in this agency signing a warrant for his arrest for “Impersonation of a Police Officer.” John Smith learned of the warrant through his girlfriend who ran from law enforcement in order to assist John Smith in eluding police contact. During the investigation, it was learned John Smith had a habit of stealing television sets from motels in one location then pawning same in another location away from the first. With the usage of LeadsOnline, this agency was able to locate the areas of where Smith had recently been. Pawn shops from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Missouri that participate in your program enabled this agency to keep up with our suspect then eventually leading to his capture in the State of Georgia. Your LeadsOnline program is an invaluable tool that should be available on every investigator’s desktop.”

Sgt. J.F. Steele
Autauga County Sheriff’s Office
Alabama

Alabama insurance fraud prevented by detective using LeadsOnline

“I’ve recently learned that the suspect in an insurance fraud case I’ve been working owes a lot of money to his ex-wife for back child support. My using LeadsOnline stopped him from filing a false claim with his insurance. The records I accessed in a search on your system showed the suspect falsely claimed items as stolen from his residence. The case has now been closed. Thanks for your assistance in providing such a useful tool for our agency.”

Sgt. Casey Ott
Autauga County Sheriff’s Office
Alabama

Felony charges for misuse of company credit card

“I was investigating an unlawful use of credit card case where an employee used the company’s credit card to purchase tools from Home Depot, but the tools never ended up at the business. The employee claimed he bought the tools and delivered them to the business, and he said someone must have stolen them. I checked the employee’s home, Craigslist, eBay and the other sales sites, but I was unable to locate any of the stolen tools. When I checked LeadsOnline, I found the employee sold several of the missing tools at multiple pawn shops in our area. Along with the recovery of the tools, I obtained video of the employee during the actual sale of the items, which lead to felony charges against the employee. Without assistance from LeadsOnline, this case might not have come to a successful conclusion.”

Det. Michael Pentecost
Glendale Heights Police Department
Illinois

Three municipalities use LeadsOnline to arrest and charge Rolex thief

“I recovered a Rolex watch valued at almost $9K. The watch was purchased with a bad check on a closed account and sold at a local business. The watch was recovered, and the very next day the suspect was taken into custody for my agency, as well as Harwood Heights and Oak Park. All three municipalities had charges on the same suspect and utilized LeadsOnline for their cases. LeadsOnline is a great tool for law enforcement.”

Officer Rich Stoettner
Orland Park Police Department
Illinois

Charleston County locate tools purchased with counterfeit checks

“I located two stolen diagnostic tools that a suspect pawned at two different stores. The items were stolen by using counterfeit checks to pay for them.”

Det. Dustin Turner
Charleston County Sheriff’s Office
South Carolina

Employee theft of auto parts solved via LeadsOnline eBay. Back to Normal in Illinois.

“Thanks for teaming with eBay. I was able to use your eBay search to locate numerous stolen items related to an auto parts manager stealing items from a dealership and selling them on eBay. He sold over $10,000 in auto parts. Thanks to LeadsOnline, we were able to track a lot of the items down. This tool was a big part of making the business owner happy with our investigation. Thanks.”

Det. Jake Zabukovec
Normal Illinois Police Department
Illinois

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

Florida police solve identity theft case with LeadsOnline

We had a victim who received a statement from her bank for the cost of a Dell Laptop that she did not purchase. The victim filed a police report for identity theft in which she suspected her neighbor as a possible suspect. The neighbor was interviewed and denied the allegations and/or purchasing a Dell Laptop. A few weeks later I attended a training on LeadsOnline hosted by Anya and Travis. I ran the neighbor on LeadsOnline, and discovered the neighbor sold several items at a local business in our city. One of the items was a Dell Laptop that was the same color and model of the Dell Laptop purchased with the victim’s personal information. The neighbor was interviewed again and shown the transaction ticket showing the neighbor sold a Dell Laptop. This time she admitted to the fraudulent use of the victim’s personal information, purchasing the Dell Laptop and selling it. She was charged and transported to jail. LeadsOnline is a great tool for law enforcement!”

Det. Juan Amaro
Hialeah Police Department
Florida

Tricky suspect tries to hide behind his mother

“I recently had a burglary where numerous common power tools were taken, Dewalt, Skil etc… I also had suspect info, or so I thought. Nothing turned up on the suspect name that I had. However, by searching LeadsOnline, I was able to locate the suspect and the stolen property. He had a different spelling for his first name and the last name he used was his mother’s maiden name. Without this feature, I really don’t think it would of been found so easily. Thank you LeadsOnline. You Rock!”

Det. Jason Hicks
Clay County Sheriff Office
Minnesota

Best tool for fraud investigations

“LeadsOnline helped me break a fraud case. It is by far one of the best investigative tools available.”

Det. Gregory Hartunian
Madison Heights Police Department
Michigan

Catching cooks and smurfers

“I just wanted to let y’all know that this service is invaluable to my meth investigations. LeadsOnlabs has led me in the right direction several times and, more times than not, an arrest or a confidential informant was developed based on intelligence I gathered using the system. I use the information gathered from LeadsOnlabs as a tool to just not get the smurfers buying the pills, but also getting the cooks recruiting the smurfers.

Thanks again for providing us Law Enforcement with an easy-to-use tool that I could not go without now!”

Investigator
Texas-based Multi-State Narcotic Task Force

Arkansas, Texas meth cooks identified and arrested by investigators using LeadsOnlabs MethMonitor

“Over the last few months, we have focused our efforts on individuals that are “smurfing” pseudoephedrine pills for area methamphetamine cooks. With the use of LeadsOnLabs, we have successfully been able to compile several conspiracy cases involving an astronomical number of individuals, both the individuals “smurfing” pills and the cooks themselves. Also during these investigations we have been able to contact other drug task force agencies with information gained through our investigations which have led to several seizures of methamphetamine labs. Out of all the surveillance equipment, hi-tech gadgets, and other items we use in our daily efforts to fight the war on drugs, LeadsOnlabs MethMonitor by far is one of the greatest tools at our disposal. Thanks for all your work.”

Sgt. Devin Warner
Bi-State Narcotics Task Force
Arkansas, Texas

First day using LeadsOnline leads to a win for the good guys

“I just started using LeadsOnline today, and I came across a familiar name. The individual has been hiding for some time due to a felony warrant. It just so happened they made a recent sale and gave a different address than what we had. I did some checking and it turned out the person was living at the address listed on the transaction slip. Needless to say, warrant served. Another great tool for the good guys. Thanks!”

Deputy Jason Korst
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
Montana

New agency in Kentucky recovers stolen property within in minutes of signing up for LeadsOnline

“Once signed up with LeadsOnline, our agency did a walk-through with the LeadsOnline staff. Within minutes, our agency was able to recover property that had recently been reported stolen. Such a great tool!”

Deputy Wes Gaddis
Mercer County Sheriff’s Office
Kentucky