Internet Terrorist
A California law firm requested us to identify a person living in the Central Texas area who was making death threats over the internet to the teenage daughter of their client. The family was unclear as to whether this was a deranged adult, a teenage prankster, a pedophile, or a serial killer. The only information they had was the first name of the perpetrator and his AOL screen name. No other personal descriptors were known. Presumably, the two had met in a chat room. The perp had previously e-mailed the daughter stating that he was involved in a felony case with local law enforcement and, as a grand finale, was coming out to California to brutally kill her.
After analyzing the "AOL Members Profile" and gleaning some lifestyle clues, we determined that the perp lived in Georgetown, Texas. After running his first name and age range through DCS Information Systems, we confirmed a full name with a Georgetown address. Records at the Williamson County court house revealed that he had two minor traffic tickets. One was for not having a valid sticker and the other was a minor moving traffic violation. We also learned that he was 19 years old and lived with his parents. His employment was part time at a local auto parts store. This information was forwarded to the attorney along with the telephone number of the parents of this "teenage terrorist." One could only imagine the California parents' jubilation to learn this perp was only exhibiting adolescent bravado to try and impress the young lady.
Med Tech License Restored
Usually, late night telephone calls instill alarm and denote something ominous. Such a call was received one night from a young man in Florida who needed a private investigator in Austin to determine if an arrest warrant was still pending on him. Allegedly, the warrant was tied to illegal drug activities in Travis County back in the early 1990's. These activities had gotten him some jail time, probation, restitution, plus an outstanding warrant for probation violation. His concern was to try and "make things right" with the Travis County court system and, if possible, expunge these records. If successful, he could apply for a MED TECH license in Florida. He had already obtained the support of several doctors willing to vouch for him.
The investigation uncovered an active warrant on the TCIC for the probation violation. There was no evidence to suggest that a warrant was listed on the NCIC. I arranged for him to establish a connection with an Austin attorney. After several weeks, the client sent an e-mail stating that the arrest warrant had been withdrawn, probation had been absolved and restitution was waived. He was very excited about the outcome. He thanked me for all the hard work and said he would let me know when he received his Florida Med Tech license. (In this case, I waived some billable hours over and above the retainer fee).
Friendly Texans
When one tries to set up vehicle surveillance in certain rural counties in Texas, you can expect a nosy neighbor, a friendly farmer, or a kindly housewife to stop by and ask if you are in trouble or need help with your vehicle. If one of these people gets suspicious, they will go home and telephone all the neighbors telling them that a strange vehicle is parked down on the highway with a strange person in it. At that point, you might as well fold up and go home because you are now under surveillance.
There have been times, due to limited accessibility, when I have considered renting a light plane (with pilot) and flying over the residence of the perp with a 35 mm Zoom camera or 8 mm video and shoot film from the sky. This seems extreme but, seriously, the cost of an airplane rental would be around $75.00 to $100.00 per hour. This beats the alternative of trespassing (and getting fined) on a neighbor's land to get photos.
A Workers' Comp Case
While working a case in Houston, I needed to establish surveillance video on a perp from his hotel room to his doctor's office for a 10:00 a.m. appointment. The problem was, out of the 266 rooms in the hotel, we didn't have a clue as to which room he was in. Furthermore, the front desk was not about to tell me anything pertaining to their guest list. I had already ruled out pizza delivery, flower delivery and knocking on motel room doors.
As a viable alternative, I called my associate in Austin and had her ring the front desk and ask the clerk for the perp's room number so we could make an overnight express package delivery. To our surprise, it worked. The next morning, I was able to obtain excellent video footage of the perp striding briskly across the parking lot and gingerly walking into the medical building for his doctor's appointment.
Saved by the Internet
While locating witnesses and conducting interviews relating to a carnival ride accident in Austin, Texas, it became crucial that we interview two witnesses listed in the police report. The police report was not available since it was an ongoing investigation.
On a hunch, an alternative tact was taken. It is common knowledge among P. I.'s that two of the most powerful search engines on the WEB are google.com and ixquick.com. When we entered "carnival rides/amusement rides/accidents", we came up with a text copy of the police report listing the two witnesses and the investigating officers by name. When given this investigative information, my attorney client became extremely happy. I let him think I possessed magical powers! To this day, I still don't know how the police investigation report got on the internet.
