- Nov 25, 2016
- 849
- 2,323
Sometimes having an LPR system definitely pays off. Here's my latest story:
On June 14, I recorded a couple of catalytic converter thieves hitting my neighbor's Prius parked right across the street from me in the early hours of the morning. I uploaded my video to YouTube, posted it on NextDoor, and forwarded everything to the local police. I then entered the license plate into my LPR alert list, just in case they came back. I heard nothing from the police or my neighbor after that. Given that it was an out-of-state plate, I thought perhaps the thieves had moved on.
Flash forward to last Monday night (10 weeks later), when out of the blue I suddenly got an LPR alert at 9:30 p.m. A vehicle with the same plate was back in my neighborhood. A quick check of my cameras confirmed that it was the same 2001 Chevy Suburban that I had recorded before. I knew what was going to happen, because my cameras had recorded it the previous time. The thieves would cruise around the area looking for vehicles to target, then return in the early hours to steal their catalytic converters.
I made a call to the police, and within 15 minutes an officer showed up who was doing the night shift in my neighborhood. He looked at my video, agreed that the thieves would probably be back in a few hours, then started cruising around the streets near my home to look for likely targets, i.e. Toyota Priuses parked on the streets. I also put the officer's phone number into my alert list so that he would get notified if the thieves drove by my house again.
Around 2 a.m., I was awakened by the same officer at my door. His partner had the thieves in custody several blocks over, and he needed to see my video again to confirm that the two guys they had caught were the same ones in the June video (there was some question about the identity of one of them). Satisfied, he radioed his partner to take both into custody. In the back of the Chevy Suburban was a catalytic converter that they had stolen from my same neighbor across the street. Her Prius was parked in back, but they went through the alley behind her house and stole it about 30 minutes before they were arrested.
As it turned out, the two of them are from Louisville, KY. They would drive down to Nashville, steal several converters, then head back to Louisville. If they found a Prius parked in front of a home, they made a note of the address, and would come back weeks later to steal the replacement converter (having assumed that the owner would have replaced it by then).
Both are currently in jail for burglary and felony vandalism. One of them faces additional charges as a convicted felon in possession of a handgun. And right now I'm pretty much blowing up Nextdoor with the follow-up message I posted about the arrest, and getting my 15 minutes of fame.
On June 14, I recorded a couple of catalytic converter thieves hitting my neighbor's Prius parked right across the street from me in the early hours of the morning. I uploaded my video to YouTube, posted it on NextDoor, and forwarded everything to the local police. I then entered the license plate into my LPR alert list, just in case they came back. I heard nothing from the police or my neighbor after that. Given that it was an out-of-state plate, I thought perhaps the thieves had moved on.
Flash forward to last Monday night (10 weeks later), when out of the blue I suddenly got an LPR alert at 9:30 p.m. A vehicle with the same plate was back in my neighborhood. A quick check of my cameras confirmed that it was the same 2001 Chevy Suburban that I had recorded before. I knew what was going to happen, because my cameras had recorded it the previous time. The thieves would cruise around the area looking for vehicles to target, then return in the early hours to steal their catalytic converters.
I made a call to the police, and within 15 minutes an officer showed up who was doing the night shift in my neighborhood. He looked at my video, agreed that the thieves would probably be back in a few hours, then started cruising around the streets near my home to look for likely targets, i.e. Toyota Priuses parked on the streets. I also put the officer's phone number into my alert list so that he would get notified if the thieves drove by my house again.
Around 2 a.m., I was awakened by the same officer at my door. His partner had the thieves in custody several blocks over, and he needed to see my video again to confirm that the two guys they had caught were the same ones in the June video (there was some question about the identity of one of them). Satisfied, he radioed his partner to take both into custody. In the back of the Chevy Suburban was a catalytic converter that they had stolen from my same neighbor across the street. Her Prius was parked in back, but they went through the alley behind her house and stole it about 30 minutes before they were arrested.
As it turned out, the two of them are from Louisville, KY. They would drive down to Nashville, steal several converters, then head back to Louisville. If they found a Prius parked in front of a home, they made a note of the address, and would come back weeks later to steal the replacement converter (having assumed that the owner would have replaced it by then).
Both are currently in jail for burglary and felony vandalism. One of them faces additional charges as a convicted felon in possession of a handgun. And right now I'm pretty much blowing up Nextdoor with the follow-up message I posted about the arrest, and getting my 15 minutes of fame.
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