Success Stories: Metal Theft

"During the month of February, I received an influx of reports about stolen cast iron drainage grates, manhole covers and drainage grates found in self-service car washes. I made contact with a fellow detective from a neighboring jurisdiction and he provided a possible suspect name since they were encountering the same crimes. Upon running the name on LeadsOnline, we were able to obtain additional suspect information such as vehicle description, co-defendants and a pattern of suspect's visits to the metal recyclers. Two suspects were arrested and charged with several counts of Grand Larceny after arriving at the metal recycler with almost 2 tons of stolen drainage grates in the bed of their truck. Upon interviewing them, one confessed to committing the crimes. The total amount of the thefts topped $8,000 dollars and most of the complainants were able to recover their property after it was properly identified. The arrests of these two individuals cleared up several crimes in several jurisdictions."

Det. Jaye Coleman
Jackson Police Department
Property Crimes Division
Mississippi

"A complaint was made to the Grant Parish Sheriffs Office of the theft of a large aluminum pontoon boat, 10 to 12 feet in length. The theft occured on a weekend night. That Monday, check with LeadsOnline M.T.I.S showed that the pontoon had been cut in three sections and sold to a scrap yard in Alexandria, LA. Less than 16 hours from the time of the theft, the remains of the pontoon were found and three suspects were identified. Thanks to LeadsOnline and the information obtained, the case was closed in less than 16 hours."

Det. Doug James
Grant Parish Sheriffs Office
Colfax, Louisiana

"My office was signed up on LeadsOnline less than a day when we cleared a stolen outside air-condition unit that had been sold at a scrap iron dealer in Lake Village, Arkansas. We are very pleased with the service and would highly recommend LeadsOnline to all law enforcement agencies."

Chief Deputy Kenneth Green
West Carroll Parish Sheriff's Department
Oak Grove, Louisiana

"Recently, there was a rash of vehicle thefts of broken down or abandoned vehicles from the Interstate area of Central Arkansas. It was determined that approximately 30-40 vehicles were taken to a local scrapyard where they were crushed. One vehicle was identified by its owner at the scrapyard.

After an extensive LeadsOnline check by this Department's Auto Theft Detective, information was obtained showing a large amount of vehicles being scrapped by two individuals. Due to the LeadsOnline's ability to have photographs of items being scrapped, it was determined that two individules were were responsible for pulling the vehicles to the scrapyard. Without the ability to check information on LeadsOnline this valuable information would have never come to light. Thanks LeadsOnLine!"

Det. Desizlets and Det. Blevins
North Little Rock Police Department
Arkansas

In December 2009, a town in Arkansas was hit hard by a rash of copper wire thefts, causing thousands of dollars in repair and replacement for businesses in the community. The police put together a suspect profile and came up with a specific individual, but needed to completely prove that he'd been a part of those particular thefts. When they ran his driver's license number through the LeadsOnline database, they were able to immediately see where he had recently sold some copper wire at one of the local scrap yards. An arrest was made on the suspect. The LeadsOnline Metal Theft System is run statewide in Arkansas.