More and More Video Victories CRIMES FROM THE ARCHIVES! Thank you, JJ Jakubowski for sending in this file from the June 2007 issue of Self Serve Car Wash News. Although these stories are 14 years old, the criminals are still dumb. It is getting to be a real phenomenon — carwash video security systems proving to be the key to busting bad guys and solving a number of aggravating problems. The more reports of success we hear and share, the more video systems are being installed ... and then even more reports of success are shared. It is a “vicious cycle” , but only for the perps on the wrong side of the lens. We’ve printed some already on previous pages of this issue’s Industry News column, but here are a few more examples: ■ In Lehigh Acres, Florida, Rod Willis owner of the Gator Carwash, got a new IBA early last year that was plagued with chronic, mysterious shut downs ... about 3 times per week. The emergency shut-off button was being activated and needed to be physically reset. Willis was “losing a ton of money”, so he invested $9,000 and installed video surveillance. Soon after, in September, the mystery was solved. He got a tag number, description of the car and good shots of the guy pushing that button ... with his elbow, so as to not leave fingerprints. The perp was Tony Zimbicki, the owner of a competing carwash down the street from the Gator. Willis and the county prosecutor hope to be able to charge Zimbicki with a felony. ■ Four men were identified and arrested in Tuscon, Arizona after video showed them washing a stolen BMW. A search of their home revealed that they were involved in many other crimes. They’re now all in jail facing charges of car theft, burglary, fraud, and operating a major methamphetamine lab. ■ Eric Wilson is a multi-wash operator in Birmingham, Alabama and over the last 2 years his video was used to • arrest and convict a ring of Russian counterfeiters. • Nab a guy who dumped his RV’s “black water” into a bay pit. He paid Eric $500 to have them cleaned out. • Convict an oil changer/dumper. • Identified and caught a trash dumper. “As time goes on”, Eric says, “we have fewer incidents. I can’t imagine how the old timers ever managed their washes without cameras and the internet!” 66 • SPRING 2021 You both got caught! In Gloucester, Virginia, two men have been arrested following a string of burglaries at self serve car washes throughout the area. According to WAVY, on March 27 the sheriff’s office began a multijurisdictional investigation after three self-operated car washes in Gloucester were struck by a string of burglaries by then two unknown suspects. The car washes suffered “extensive property damage and loss of revenue from their coin-operated vacuum machines,” as a result. After images of the suspects were captured and then shared on social media, several community members forwarded information regarding the suspects. Larry M. Davis, 40, and Marty J. Redmond, 29, are currently being held on multiple charges. No criminal is safe when Taco Bell and a car wash pool their resources and nab a child abuser. In Billings, Montana, 35-year-old Willie Redd is now in jail after he made false claims to the police regarding the welfare of his daughter. According to a February 8 story from KULR 8, an investigation began after police learned of a 3-year-old child being treated at the hospital for multiple injuries. Detective Robert Miller was assigned to the case after hospital staff said the child’s injuries were inconsistent with the account supplied by the child’s mother, the story said. “The mother told Detective Miller that she left her child in the care of Redd on Tuesday, Feb. 2 while she went to work. She said Redd contacted her early the next morning, advising her that the child required emergency medical attention.” Redd told the mother that he was at Taco Bell with the child around 12:30 a.m. on February 3 and said an unknown vehicle pulled up next to his car while began firing at his car. Redd said he then accelerated away, almost reaching “100 miles per hour” even though the child was not restrained in her car seat. The child ended up being thrown around inside of the car. This is where Redd gets caught lying, thanks to Taco Bell and a car wash. Redd then claimed he pulled over at a car wash and called the child’s mother to inform her of the situation. He also said he switched out cars at the car wash. Detective Miller examined Redd’s vehicle and said two bullet holes were in the driver’s door, the windshield was fractured and there were minimal amounts of blood found in the car. Detective Miller obtained video surveillance footage from Taco Bell and the car wash from that night and said he could see a windshield fracture on Redd’s vehicle when he entered the Taco Bell drive-thru, but no bullet holes or other damage to the vehicle was noticed. Video surveillance at the car wash also did not show any bullet holes or damage to the vehicle. On February 8, the U.S. Marshals Montana Violent Offender’s Task Force (MVOTF) issued a BOLO alert for Redd for a violation of his probation connected to a prior weapons possession charge. He was apprehended on February 17. While apprehended, Redd was once again asked to outline the events involving his daughter on February 3. At the conclusion of the interview, Redd was remanded to the Yellowstone County Detention Facility, the story said. The child has since been released from the Denver’s Children Hospital. I suppose with all of the violent and brutal crimes being posted here and reported all over the news, a nice counterfeit money crime story is a welcomed respite. In Denver, Colorado, police arrested a man for allegedly using counterfeit bills at several businesses, including a car wash, according to a March 31 Ski-Hi News report. Ronald Fleagle, 45, was apprehended after a Fraser Quick Stop employee reported a customer was trying to pay for gas with a fake $100 bill. Police said the employee refused the bill, and Fleagle paid with other cash, according to the story. “The Quick Stop provided surveillance footage of Fleagle and his truck. Police later spotted the vehicle at the Fraser Car Wash, where Fleagle was arrested around 5:40 p.m. on March 30.” When police searched Fleagle’s truck, they apparently found counterfeit bills and other related evidence. Two banks also informed police that local businesses had taken in numerous counterfeit bills, discovered in the businesses’ regular cash deposits. Fleagle was charged with forgery, obstruction, possession of forgery devices, possession of second degree forged instruments and displaying a fictitious plate and he remains in Grand County Jail on a $4,000 cash or surety bond. Police added that businesses should use caution when accepting large bills, especially $50 and $100 notes.
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