Region 2 News
Region 2a Director:  Jim Simmons, Montgomery Co. Sheriff's Office
Region 2b Director:  Glen Buzek, Texas DPS - MVTS
Region 2c Director:  Danny Sheppard, Galveston Co. Sheriff's Office
Region 2d Director:  Bill Smith, Harris Co. Sheriff's Office

Submitted by Danny Sheppard, Galveston Co. Sheriff's Office

On 07/01/2008,Sgt. Cheryl Jackson of the Hitchcock, Texas Police Department contacted the Galveston County Auto Crimes Task Force. GCACTF Agent Steve Womack was advised by Jackson of a reported theft of a 1999 Volvo COB truck, a 2001 Viking drop deck trailer, an AJAX trailer and 2 high pressure industrial pumps coming to a total value of $ 410,000. Womack was advised that information had been received indicating that the property was possibly located in Pearland, Texas.  Agent Womack was given the names of two possible suspects that were involved in the theft of the truck and equipment. Womack was further advised that the property was possibly located in some type of storage lot. 

GCACTF Agents Womack and Trey Rusk traveled to Pearland, Texas and started checking various storage lots and businesses in the area. Through investigation, the agents arrived at 4121 Cullen Blvd. Pearland, Texas, which is the location of Private Stock Transporters of America. Agents Womack and Rusk located the truck, trailers and the equipment parked in plain view.  The owner of the business was contacted and provided Agent Womack with a receipt for storage that had the name of one of the listed suspects on it. The property was recovered and returned to the owner in Hitchcock, Texas. 

The follow up investigation revealed that the original victim and the two listed suspects were involved in a civil lawsuit over past business dealings involving the truck and equipment. At this time no charges have been filed in the case pending the receipt of court documents regarding the civil proceedings.

Submitted by Jim Woods, Houston PD

Greetings from Houston, where things are always busy.  Crooks haven’t stopped trying to help themselves to other people's cars.  Thank goodness for job security.  The Ford F250 thefts are still prevalent and the ABTPA grant unit has been working on ways to infiltrate those responsible for the thefts.  Hopefully we will have good news in the future.

Eric Blankenship has had some success with his Lo-Jack tracking unit.  Eric and a Harris County patrol deputy arrived at a local motel, where a stolen car was parked.  Surveillance was established and wouldn’t you know it, three upstanding people decided to take the stolen out for a short trip.  Harris County SO conducted a traffic stop, and the three were handed off to Galveston.  The stolen car was linked to a homicide in Galveston.  The arrest of the three led to others being arrested.

Weeks later, Eric Blankenship got another hit while driving into work, and this track led him, Harris County SO and DPS troopers to a residence in northwest Houston.  Just when the handheld tracker arrived, the homeowner arrived, gave consent and wouldn’t you know it, the Lo-Jack signal was emitting from the stolen Lexus behind door number one.  The Lexus was a reported stolen from Maryland.  Harris County Auto Theft is conducting a follow-up investigation on how the car made its way to Houston.

Mike Ingels, Robert Carr and Dave Zaunbrecher are keeping busy with identity thefts from area car dealers.  Most of the time, there is a crooked car salesman on the inside.  So there should be some openings for car sales personnel in the near future.  Another case Robert Carr investigated had a white male, Ryan Richie, who along with a girlfriend, Rachel Coveyou, went into a local "mom and pop" car lot and agreed to purchase three used cars for $52,000.  A check was written and payment was made.  The suspects left in one of the used cars.  When the check was found to be on a closed account, the case was opened.  Ryan Richie then sold the used car to an innocent purchaser in order to get cash.  A promise was made that the title would be delivered.  But that didn’t stop Ryan Richie or Rachel Coveyou.  They then proceeded to a new car dealership and presented them a comdata comcheck, (which is normally used in the trucking industry) to purchase a 2008 Cadillac Escalade, valued at $77,000.  The suspects left the dealership in the new Escalade.  The comdata check was found to be from an invalid account and now the dealership was scrambling to find the Escalade.  Luckily they were able to get that unit back.  Ryan Richie was charged with 2^nd degree felony theft and Rachel Coveyou was charged with 3^rd degree felony theft.  When Ryan Richie’s photo was shown on local news, another complainant was located and this investigation revealed he had assaulted a former girlfriend, which led to another charge, aggravated assault w/deadly weapon, on Ryan Richie.  Hopefully he will get some much deserved jail time. 

But the cons don’t stop there.  Back in late April, I saw a general broadcast on a freshly stolen 2008 Ford F150 Harley Davidson with paper dealer tags.  I contacted the officer making the auto theft report and learned the white male suspect had convinced the general car sales manager that he was an associate of Kelly Clarkson, the former American Idol winner.  It seems the white male had made an appointment to view a Harley Davidson F150 and arrived for the appointment and told the GM that Kelly Clarkson was in town with her mother and sister.  They were all staying at a high-end hotel at the Galleria Mall.  Kelly Clarkson wanted to buy the truck for her sister.  The male identifies himself as “Justin”.  “Justin” told the GM that Kelly would feel more comfortable dealing with the GM, so would the GM mind driving the truck over to the hotel.  Now since “Justin” never asked to test drive the truck, no identification was obtained.  (Guess where this is going).  So the GM and “Justin”, arrive at the hotel and the truck is parked in the valet drop-off.  “Justin” and GM go inside the hotel to the second floor lobby.  The GM and “Justin” talk about the truck and after a few minutes, “Justin” tells the GM he will go upstairs to get Kelly Clarkson to view the truck.  But instead, “Justin” heads downstairs and gets the keys from the valet and drives off in the truck.  When the GM gets that nauseous feeling, he goes downstairs to find the $47,000 truck and “Justin” gone.  Hotel security advises that Kelly Clarkson had not been a guest at the hotel.  The security personnel finds the videotape footage of the GM and “Justin”, but nothing that will allow identification.  Jim Woods takes on the case for follow-up investigation.  

A few days went by and hotel security contacted me and advised they received a phone call from a female who had been a guest at the hotel a few days prior to the Ford F150 Harley Davidson truck theft.  The female stated she had met and spent “time” with a white male named “Justin” and upon arriving home in New York she discovered a credit card missing and charges made to it after she had left Houston.  The female went on to say she had taken a photo of the male, “Justin” on her cell phone.  (Don’t you just love technology).  Officer Woods contacted the female and she advised that “Justin” had claimed to be in the music business and even mentioned working for Kelly Clarkson.  Jim Woods was able to obtain a copy of the photo she had taken and upon showing the photo to the car dealership GM it was a positive match, but no one knew what his real name was.  Time to get some media exposure.  A local TV station runs the story on the 10:00 PM news and by the next morning, the suspect “Justin” is really Adam Fuller, recently released from TDC by about 20 days.  Bill Smith helps by e-mailing over Adam Fuller's arrest photo from Harris County.  So by 9:00 AM, a name has been put with the face.  Then I received a phone call from another HPD officer and was told to call the Harris County Precinct Four Constable, Lt. Larry Finley.  I was told that Lt. Finley had Adam Fuller in custody and the stolen Ford F150 Harley Davidson had been recovered.  A quick phone call confirms the suspect is arrested, and I made a quick drive to the Precinct Four substation to interview the suspect.  Lt. Finley advised he had been told by a local resident that a male knocked on his door looking for the man’s son regarding the truck the male was supposed to buy after his dad had bought him a brand new Ford F150 Harley Davidson truck.  The homeowner told the male that he didn’t have a son and he wasn’t selling any truck.  Lt. Finley made a pointed attempt over the next couple of days to find the Ford F150 Harley Davidson truck.  Well it seems that another resident had seen the TV newscast about the stolen Ford F150 Harley Davidson truck and saw a truck matching the description pull into the Raveneaux Country Club parking lot that morning and called Precinct Four to report the suspicious activity.  Lt. Finley, who was not aware of the previous night’s newscast, but was well aware of the Ford F150 Harley Davidson truck, heard the dispatcher assign the call.  Lt. Finley arrived at the country club and located the Ford F150 Harley Davidson truck but no driver.  A quick check of the VIN revealed the truck was stolen.   A security guard advised Lt. Finley of a white male, who was not known to be a guest of the country club, inside the building.  The male was located and when interviewed he lied about his identity.  The subsequent arrest allowed his true name to be determined and his ID was found inside the stolen Ford F150 Harley Davidson truck. 

The suspect, Adam Fuller, gave a full confession to his criminal acts and then proceeded to enlighten those willing to listen on how he came up with the ides.  It seems, while in TDC, the suspect read about Kelly Clarkson and about the music industry, especially her record label, Sony records.  Adam Fuller is quite the con man and quite charming and likeable.  He disclosed that after the theft of the truck, he was able to get VIP access to the Toyota Center (met Yao Ming - Houston Rocket), Minute Maid baseball park, (home of the Houston Astros) and several clubs and dining establishments.  All access was granted by using Kelly Clarkson’s name to gain admittance.

After the full confession, even after being warned he didn’t have to talk to the media, Adam Fuller gives the local news station a full on air confession.  Adam Fuller was charged with 3^rd degree felony theft, with an imminent return to TDC, where he will have more time to learn about someone else. 

Note:  Kelly Clarkson’s management group was contacted and advised of the investigation and made aware of the fraud by the suspect Adam Fuller.  No other scams were known to have occurred by anyone posing as an associate of Kelly Clarkson.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO NEWS LINK ON THE ABOVE STORY

Submitted by Danny Sheppard, Galveston Co. SO

In February 2006, a 2006 DONZI 23GT inboard boat valued at $78,000 and a 2006 aluminum McClain trailer were reported stolen to the Seabrook Police Department in Southeast Harris County. At the time of the original report, no suspects were listed and the case went into the inactive file. The boat and trailer were entered into TCIC/NCIC, but no activity had been recorded over the last two years.  Due to this boat being custom built and one of a kind, a flyer was sent out to DONZI clubs across the nation to be on the lookout for this boat and trailer.

On 02/05/2008, Galveston County Auto Crimes Task Force Agent Hal Barrow received information from a law firm hired to locate the boat. The information indicated that the boat and trailer had been seen on the Chattahoochee River in the Houston County Alabama area. The information also provided Barrow with the boat's present owner residing in Colombia, Alabama and his possible place of employment.

Barrow coordinated with investigators from NICB and the Alabama Bureau of Investigations to locate and identify the boat and trailer mentioned above. Alabama investigators were able to obtain enough probable cause for a search warrant and executed the warrant on 02/07/2008. Barrow received a call from the Alabama investigators advising that the boat and trailer had been recovered in excellent condition. The present owner of the boat advised that he purchased the boat and trailer from a person in Texas that only identified himself by the name of “Shorty”. Barrow also learned that the owner in Alabama had taken out a $20,000.00 loan to purchase the boat. At this time it appears that the owner in Alabama is an innocent purchaser. This investigation is continuing to attempt to identify “Shorty”. This is one of at least three DONZI boats and trailers stolen in the Galveston County area in the last two to three years.