One of my employees came into the office this morning and announced that the battery from his truck had been stolen, a $20 roll of trash bags taken, and a bad battery inserted back into the truck. We played last night's video off of our camera system, and it showed the whole transaction. When the thief departed the area on foot, he came close enough to our cameras that we could recognize an ex-employee from his gait, clothing, and height. The vehicle that showed up to pick up the stolen battery also probably belonged to another ex-employee.
We called the police. They watched the video, and did their best to get fingerprints. While that was going on, I called the 1st suspected ex-employee, and asked him why he took my battery! After initially denying it, he told me he could get my battery back, that it was in the possession of the other suspected ex-employee.
When I informed the officer of the telephone conversation, he knocked on the door of the actual thief (right behind the parked truck), arrested him, got more details from the thief, and proceeded to pursue the second villain in this story. Unfortunately, the actual thief was kind of a simpleton seeking booze for his alcohol habit, whereas the other perpetrator was a rather hardened case that knew how to avoid getting in trouble.
Either way, we recovered our stolen battery and even got the roll of trash bags back. I probably spent more money on lost time on this arrest than the value of the battery, but I have two ex-employees that know I don't play when it comes to stealing.
Sadly, the rotten egg got away, as the police felt they could not prosecute successfully the second guy, despite video of his vehicle on our property picking up stolen goods later recovered from his vehicle.
I did big favors for both of these guys, and they both still have property that I am taking care of that they hope to recover. That hope may be dwindling.
Without the cameras, I would still be clueless. Get a good system, and make sure you keep it running!
We called the police. They watched the video, and did their best to get fingerprints. While that was going on, I called the 1st suspected ex-employee, and asked him why he took my battery! After initially denying it, he told me he could get my battery back, that it was in the possession of the other suspected ex-employee.
When I informed the officer of the telephone conversation, he knocked on the door of the actual thief (right behind the parked truck), arrested him, got more details from the thief, and proceeded to pursue the second villain in this story. Unfortunately, the actual thief was kind of a simpleton seeking booze for his alcohol habit, whereas the other perpetrator was a rather hardened case that knew how to avoid getting in trouble.
Either way, we recovered our stolen battery and even got the roll of trash bags back. I probably spent more money on lost time on this arrest than the value of the battery, but I have two ex-employees that know I don't play when it comes to stealing.
Sadly, the rotten egg got away, as the police felt they could not prosecute successfully the second guy, despite video of his vehicle on our property picking up stolen goods later recovered from his vehicle.
I did big favors for both of these guys, and they both still have property that I am taking care of that they hope to recover. That hope may be dwindling.
Without the cameras, I would still be clueless. Get a good system, and make sure you keep it running!
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