Special to Iredell Free News

Troutman Police Department has recovered numerous stolen vehicles in the last two weeks resulting in various arrests. None of the recoveries has been related to each other. Interim

Chief Darrin Payne pointed out that good old fashion police work in the community and the Flock cameras the Town of Troutman has installed at various locations have led to the recoveries.

♦ On May 26, Officer J. Lyon was on routine patrol and observed a 2003 Dodge Caravan close to the sidewalk in the Wagner Street area of Town. Officer Lyon felt the vehicle was not parked normally for the area and investigated further and discovered there was no license plate on the vehicle. Officer Lyon ran the VIN number of the vehicle and learned it had been reported stolen in the City of Statesville. Officer Lyons contacted Statesville Police Department and advised them he had located a vehicle that was reported stolen by their agency. No suspects were located. The value of the vehicle was approximately $1,500.

♦ On June 1, Officer M. Sharpe was on routine patrol and received a notification that a possible stolen motor vehicle had passed one of the cameras. While traveling south on Main Street, Officer Sharpe spotted a 2006 Black Volkswagen Jetta at gas pumps at a convenience store. Officer Sharpe confirmed the vehicle was stolen out of Wilkes County. He then made contact with the driver, Ashley Mariah Provident, 20. She was charged with felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle and given a $10,000 secured bond. The recovery value of the vehicle was $5,000.

♦ On June 6, Sgt. J. Benge was on routine patrol and received a notification that a possible stolen motor vehicle had passed one of the Flock cameras. Sgt. Benge continued patrolling in the area of South Main Street and spotted a 2016 Fiat 500 parked at a convenience store. Sgt. Benge confirmed the vehicle was stolen in Cherokee, N.C. Sgt. Benge located the driver, Nathan Lee Long, 26, of Waynesville. Officer M. Sharpe responded to assist and spoke with the passenger, Kristyn Nicole Rapp, 30, Waynesville. Both individuals were charged with felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle. Both suspects were previously released on various bonds from other jurisdictions because of many larceny charge crimes in those jurisdictions. Due to the combination of their pending charges and living so far away, their bonds were $20,000 each. The recovery value of the stolen Fiat was $16,000.

♦ On June 7, TPD officers were on routine patrol when they received a Flock camera alert of a possible stolen motor vehicle that was traveling south on Main Street. Officers Bentley, Dagenhart and Trivitte located a 2013 Ford F-150 in the parking lot of one of a fast-food restaurant. Officer Bentley was able to identify Dylan Addison Kennedy, 26, of Clemmons as the driver. While officers were conducting their investigation and confirming the vehicle was stolen, they also located two silver spoons and syringes. Kennedy was charged with felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle and possession of drug paraphernalia and given a $10,000 secured bond. The recovery value of the stolen truck was $10,000.

Detective Cameron Jones stated this was a great example of the Flock cameras giving an alert to a possible crime. But officers performing community-style policing is what ultimately located the vehicles.

The officers’ experience and ability to handle investigations lead to the arrests. None of these larcenies occurred in our town. Due to locating the stolen vehicles and suspects it is possible further crime in our community was thwarted. It is harder to solve crimes involving transient criminals.