Witness Location Investigation After $20,000 Robbery Uncovers Critical Testimony
- Category: Witness Location
net synergies realized above the initial target in the first year
Client Background
Our client was a small business owner who had been victimized by a trusted former employee. He felt helpless; while he knew the theft occurred after hours, the suspect claimed to have been miles away. Two potential witnesses—a cleaning contractor and a security guard from a neighboring building—had seen the suspect near the safe with a duffel bag, but they had moved on shortly after the incident. By the time the client realized the theft, the “trail” for these witnesses had gone cold. He feared his $20,000 was gone forever because the only people who could prove the truth were “lost in the system.”
Challenge
Vanishing Footprints: Both witnesses had moved for new employment. One had a very common name, making database searches difficult, and the other had gone completely dark on social media.
Time Lapse: Several months had passed since the robbery, meaning standard address records were outdated.
Reluctance to Testify: There was a significant concern that once found, the witnesses might be afraid of retaliation or simply unwilling to travel back to Houston for a court case.
Jurisdictional Hurdles: One witness had moved three hours away to Dallas, putting them outside the immediate focus of local Houston investigators.
Investigations
We utilized a multi-phased witness location investigation strategy to track and secure our targets:
Proprietary Skip Tracing: We used professional-grade databases to find a recent credit application for the first witness. This led us to her new employer. We verified her location through a discreet background check verification with the company’s HR department.
DMV and Social Media Cross-Referencing: For the second witness, we identified a vehicle registration in Dallas. We then used digital forensics to find a “tagged” post from a coworker at a Dallas security firm, confirming his current workplace.
Tactical Field Interviews: We didn’t just locate them; we traveled to them. Our investigators met the witnesses in person, using a professional and non-threatening approach to explain the situation.
Affidavit Recovery: We secured recorded, sworn statements from both witnesses. The cleaning worker confirmed she saw the suspect acting nervously near the open safe, and the security guard confirmed seeing the suspect leave the building at 2:00 AM with a weighted duffel bag.
Results
The documentation provided by our witness location investigation was the turning point for the legal case:
Criminal Conviction: Armed with the sworn affidavits and current contact information, the District Attorney reopened the case. Faced with the eyewitness testimony, the former employee pleaded guilty.
Full Restitution: As part of the sentencing, the court ordered the defendant to repay the $20,000 to the business owner.
Case Resolved: The client recovered his stolen funds and saw the thief held accountable.
Expert Testimony: Our investigators provided a comprehensive report to the defense and prosecution, ensuring the chain of custody for the witness statements was legally sound and admissible in court.
The Bottom Line: A case without witnesses is just a series of accusations. A professional witness location investigation turns those accusations into a conviction. If your case is stalling because people have disappeared, we have the tools and the persistence to find them.
The Results
Customer orders remained steady during the sales transition, and financial performance in the impacted business units exceeded internal forecasts.
Sales representatives were shifted toward the future-state, guided by the new organization structure, territories, product coverage, and compensation design in both North America and Europe.
The combined company was also on track toward full integration of sales enablement tools, including revised training programs, rationalized sales IT systems and updated sales dashboards and performance metrics.
Identified net synergies for the third year expected to exceed expectations at 1.5 times the initial target.
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