Historical April 1980 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
“The victim is the one who helps you solve the crime,” said Detective Nash, a member of the Team One police serving the Skinker-DeBaliviere area. Detective Nash went on to give two examples of how victims helped solve crimes in the Skinker-DeBaliviere area this winter.
One case involved the robbing of Mr. M and his daughter while they were standing in their back yard. During the investigation Mrs. M, wife and mother to the victims, worked closely with Nash. “Everytime I got to a dead end in the case,” said Nash, “and thought I couldn’t go any further, Mrs. M. would call and give me another piece to the puzzle. She was assisting me in directing this investigation: That lady ran me to death; we got the crime solved though.”
Because the crime was committed by people with no connection either to the M’s or to the area, the success of the investigation surprised Nash. “Mrs. M’s daughter and husband were robbed behind their house.” said Nash. “Apparently four men jumped out of a car, ran up, and three [of them] restrained him [Mr. M] and took his wallet. The other took the daughter’s purse. It was just an opportunity-type thing just a random robbery. These crimes you usually don’t solve.”
The real break in the case came when Detective Nash and Mrs. M tracked down the use of the M’s gas credit card. “[Only] one man was using the [gas] credit card,” said Nash, “but he was using everybody’s cars. The clerks knew him because he had come in on different occasions in different cars using different credit cards. Because he was giving the wrong license number and the clerk’s were suspicious, [they] would check and put down the right license. “I took the license numbers that were put on the victims’ credit card and looked up the owners [of the cars]. I checked their records and saw where they had been arrested in the past, who they had been arrested with. As a result, I obtained the pictures of the owners and their ‘associates’.”
These pictures then became the mugshots which were shown to the M’s and to the service station attendants. The M’s picked out three faces: one of the car owners and two associates. The station attendants, however, said that the credit card user was not among those pictured. Commented Nash, “We still don’t know exactly who he is.”
Of the three men identified by the M’s, one man is pending trial, one is still wanted, and the third was released because of dubious identification.
The investigation did not stop there, however. “Mrs M kept getting different receipts and checks back,” Nash said. “Each piece of evidence required another investigation – it got to be something.”
The investigation grew more and more complicated because of the large number of people with access to the stolen credit cards and checks. Said Nash, “One [suspect] had been arrested with twenty different individuals [this over the course of several arrests]; he was a heavy drug user — into everything from petty larceny to rape. All of them [suspects and their associates in crime] were inter-related. “They team up with one another.” he continued,” share the spoils of the robbery: the checks, credit cards, etc. A lot of them would join up with a person who had a particular game such as robbing, or stealing credit cards and checks. They actually teach each other the trade. After they break up — because one is arrested, or for whatever reason – they go to the next guy and learn his game.”
In this case, in addition to the four men who committed the robbery, a young woman is wanted for cashing stolen checks. The user of the gas credit card who may or may not have taken part in the robbery, is also wanted. And warrants have been issued on four cars.
Detective
Nash then made the point that this was an unusual case because most crimes are committed by someone from the neighborhood. And in such crimes, Nash said, many details are repeated from case to case. “[Neighborhood criminals] usually set up a pattern,” he said. “Maybe wear the same clothes, say the same things, use the same type weapons. “When a victim can tell us these things, it can help us solve it. Many people feel it isn’t going to do any good, but we sit and look at a stack of robberies and different little clues let us know exactly what we are looking for. This keeps us from going out and indiscriminately stopping people; it narrows it down.”
Nash then gave the example of a man who had been holding people up in the West End. Just a few details helped the police to identify him. “The deal is he always cupped the gun in both hands,” Nash said. “Every victim in an interview stated this was the way he held the gun. When he caught him, he had a toy gas gun and the cylinder would let you know it was a toy. He cupped the gun so no one could see that.”
The victims also identified a pattern in the way the man talked. The man always repeated his words. For instance, he would say, “I got a gun, I got a gun. Gimme your purse, gimme your purse.” “When we got him in a line-up,” said Nash, “we asked him to say. ‘Give me your purse, give me your purse.’ He responded with ‘Gimme your purse, gimme your purse, gimme your purse.’ He said it three times out of a natural reflex.
What makes a detective successful? Nash had no simple answer: “Each puzzle is different. Each robbery is different. The victims have to help— they have to supply us with the information. Each piece of information fits into place after you get through. “You have to pay attention to fine details,” he continued, “pick them out. A lot of times you may have another case with all the details, but if you don’t see the similarities between the case you are working on and a similar case, the criminal might go back out.”
Detective Nash apparently pays attention to details and sees similarities. Between September and December last year he was called in on 30 investigations. In connection with his investigations 22 warrants were issued. And in every case that has come to trial but one, Detective Nash and his helpers collected sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction.
Originally published in The Paper, April 1980.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1980_04.pdf, printed page(s) 5; PDF page(s) 5.
