On January 15, 2012, we received information about two people selling a Jaguar, Mercedes, RV and a van. Undercover officers purchased the Jaguar for 30 dollars without keys or a title. We checked the address where the car was located at and we discovered that patrol officers were dispatched to the same house on January, 12 2012 to check on a man who has not been seen for several weeks. The patrol officers made an attempt to make contact but nobody came to the door. Neighbors all stated that the homeowner had not been seen for a while. At that point my supervisor gave us permission to make entry into the house due to the fact that the home owner could possibly be deceased, especially since he had not been seen for at least a month and his vehicles were getting sold without his knowledge.
I went to the back door and used several tools to get into the residence. The first tools I used were the tension bar and the common pick we used in the class. I had to pick the lock one way because it would not work for me the other way and then I used the Plug Spinner to turn the cylinder back the correct way. The second door required the same technique on the deadbolt. I used the Covert entry tool (Kwikset cylinder removal) on the knob to open it. Both doors were open at that point.
We made entry into the house and found the home owner deceased in the front room. The two people who sold the Jaguar were later arrested for selling the RV and the Mercedes that same night. As it turns out the victim died from natural causes and the suspects knew he was deceased but had nothing to do with his death.
All I can say is I am glad I have the experience from the class and the tools to get the job done so that we could bring some closure to the family of the person we found inside the house. None of his cars were sold and his family took possession of his belongings. Thanks again for your class and for all the times I have called and bugged you to assist me with some difficult locks.
– Joe G.
