The temperatures are rising, and investigators say that car break-ins and thefts are too.

Investigators told LEX 18 that Cold Harbor Drive is a quiet neighborhood with not a lot of through traffic.

“Whoever did this was driving the neighborhood. They were casing it, looking for cars,” said Detective Mark Thomas with the Lexington Police Department. “So, they got lucky with this guy’s door handle. They were able to get in and get his credit cards.”

The victim did not find out his credit cards were missing until he woke up and found notifications from his bank. By then, it was already too late and the damage had been done.

Surveillance footage shows a woman overnight using the stolen credit cards from the man’s truck.

http://liarcatchers.com/contact.php

She was shopping at the Walgreens on Harrodsburg Road, according to police. She had also made purchases at the Minit Mart just across the street.

Police tell LEX 18 that this is an isolated incident, but they believe that there were probably other cars in the neighborhood opened and rummaged through.

“Right now as the weather’s warming up, these people are out in force, and so you really have to be careful about leaving any valuables in your car,” said Thomas. “So make sure that you lock your doors and don’t leave anything in there, especially nothing in there that’s visible, that they could see through the windows.”

If you have any information about what happened, your tip could get you a cash reward from Bluegrass Crime Stoppers. You can call in your tip at (859) 253-2020 or you can text your information to ‘Crimes’. Just put ‘LEX P-D’ in the message, along with your tip.

The former treasurer of Greater Norris Baptist Church, located in Henderson County, Kentucky, was sentenced in United States District Court today, by Chief Judge Joseph H. McKinley Jr., to 21 months in prison, followed by a three year period of supervised release and was ordered to pay $201,260.02 in restitution, announced United States Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr.

“People contribute to organizations like churches and other non-profits simply because they want to do good in the world,” stated United States Attorney John Kuhn. “Stealing funds from these groups is not only criminal, it’s disgraceful. This sentence punishes Tillman and insures she will pay back every penny that was not hers to take.”

http://liarcatchers.com/contact.php

According to the plea agreement, Delanie L. Tillman, of Henderson County, devised a scheme to defraud and obtain money and property by means of false pretenses, from the Greater Norris Baptist Church, between 2004 and June 5, 2014.

Specifically, Tillman was charged, in an 11 count indictment, with making unauthorized wire transfers and writing unauthorized checks to pay for personal expenses using the church’s funds.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Weiser and was investigated by the Henderson Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Three individuals were convicted following a five-day jury trial in Ann Arbor on charges relating to identity theft, Acting United States Attorney Daniel L. Lemisch announced today.

Lemisch was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge James Vanderberg, Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, and Steve Arwood, Director, Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.

http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html

Convicted were Kenneth Dixon, Nakita Washington, and Jamela Washington, all from Warren, Michigan. The defendants were charged with use of counterfeit access devices, aggravated identity theft, theft of government money, and conspiracy to commit those offenses.

Evidence presented at trial established that between October 2009 through April 2012, the defendants systematically engaged in a conspiracy to obtain the personal identification information of unsuspecting victims, and then used that information to submit fraudulent on-line claims for unemployment compensation benefits. Over 100 individuals were victimized.

“The guilty verdicts of Kenneth Dixon, Jamela Washington, and Nakita Washington are the culmination of an extensive investigation into a conspiracy that victimized individuals by stealing their identities and defrauded the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency of over $400,000”, stated James Vanderberg, Special Agent in Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard the Unemployment Insurance Program.”

Sentencing for all three has been set for September 19, 2017. Each face a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.

The case was investigated by special agents of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General with the assistance of the State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Barrington Wilkins

A massive house fire that broke out near the campus of the University of Kentucky is considered to be the result of arson, Lexington Fire confirms.

The fire broke out at a home on Transylvania Park just before 5:30 a.m. Monday. A passerby saw flames and called 911. Crews battled smoke and flames for hours. A campus safety alert was also issued during the blaze.

http://liarcatchers.com/arson_investigation.html

After an investigation, Lexington Fire officials confirmed that the three-story house-fire was intentionally set.

If you have information, contact authorities at 859-231-5672 or arsontips@lexingtonky.gov

A Prineville man was sentenced to more than nine years in prison Monday for luring a 15-year-old boy to a Bend hotel, where he recorded the two of them having sex.

Christopher Stout, 43, was arrested Feb. 21 and charged with 20 counts of various luring and sexual abuse crimes. He pleaded guilty Thursday to four of the counts: luring a minor, third-degree sodomy, using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct and first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse. Per a plea agreement, the other 16 charges were dismissed.

Deschutes County Circuit Judge Walter Miller accepted the deal Monday, sentencing Stout to 111 months in prison.

After his release, Stout will also have to register as a sex offender and will not be able to have contact with minors or use the internet without permission from a judge or his post-prison supervision officer.

http://liarcatchers.com/pedophile_tracking.html

The investigation into Stout started when the victim’s mother found an SD memory card in the driveway of her Bend home. She put the card into her computer and found footage of her son having sex with Stout. The victim eventually told her he met Stout on Tumblr, a photo-based social media platform, and the two began to chat. The victim said Stout knew his age and didn’t have an issue with it. They sent each other sexually explicit videos of themselves and agreed to meet in person, according to court testimony.

According to court documents, the correspondence started around Jan. 1. Around Jan. 8, the victim sneaked out of his home, and Stout picked him up and drove him to the Double Tree Inn in Bend, where Stout showed the victim a video of two underage boys having sex.

The two then had sex, the victim told police, and Stout told the victim he could not tell anyone. Stout also told the victim he had done similar things before, court documents state.

After finding the memory card containing the videos, the victim’s mother reported the sexual abuse to police on Feb. 13. Police searched Stout’s Prineville home and found videos of the sexual encounter, as well as a small amount of methamphetamine.

For the charge of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, Stout was sentenced to 70 months. That crime falls under Measure 11, Oregon’s mandatory-minimum sentencing law for violent crimes. Because of that, he will not be eligible for early release based on good behavior or participation in prison programs. He is eligible for programs and good time on the other counts.

Stout, who at the time was a U.S. Forest Service employee, has no prior criminal history. Before being sentenced Monday, he apologized for his actions, calling them “reprehensible.”

“I would like to express just how deeply sorry I am for my actions,” he said.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating missing Uber driver, Marlo Johnis Medina-Chevez, who was last seen leaving for work Saturday night to pick up a client.

Detectives said on Monday they believe him to be in “grave danger”.

Marlo Johnis Medina-Chevez, 44, was last seen by family around 9:45 p.m. Saturday, May 20 in the 6900 block of Ayreshire Glen Place in the Steele Creek area of Charlotte. Family notified police that Medina-Chevez was missing the next day, at 10:47 a.m. Sunday, May 21.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

Officers met with friends and family of Medina-Chevez on Sunday. Elsa Medina reported that Mr. Medina-Chevez, her husband, is an Uber driver and left for work on Saturday to pick up a client. He never returned home.

He was last seen driving his 2008 dark blue Nissan Pathfinder with North Carolina tag PDV-4382. Police believe locating this vehicle will be the key to locating Medina-Chevez.

Friends and family have not heard from or seen him since Saturday which is not normal, police said.

Anyone who has further information about Marlo Johnis Medina-Chevez or his dark blue Nissan Pathfinder is asked to call 911 immediately. In addition, you may also call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600. Detective J. L. Tuttle is the lead detective in this case and his number is 704-336-8340.

A Fayetteville teen is facing child sex charges in Hoke County following an investigation into a sex offense that occurred earlier this year, the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deven Hollingsworth, 16, of the 800 block of King Road, is charged with one count of first-degree statutory sexual offense and one count of indecent liberties with a child.

http://liarcatchers.com/pedophile_tracking.html

According to the sheriff’s office, Hollingsworth’s arrest follows an investigation into a reported sexual offense that occurred in February in Raeford. The investigation revealed the teen as the suspect and warrants were obtained, which led to his arrest on Friday.

Authorities have released no further information about the case.

Hollingsworth was taken into custody and given a $45,000 unsecured bond.

Police are investigating after two people were shot on South Broadway in broad daylight.

The reported shooting happened at the Campus View Condos after 3 p.m..  Neighbors tell LEX 18 that they heard an argument and then 12-15 gunshots immediately after.

Lexington Police confirm that two people were shot and transported to the hospital. A car involved in the shooting ended up at a second scene at Versailles Road.

http://liarcatchers.com/wrongful_death.html

Officers at the second Versailles Road at Terrace View talked to several people and investigated a car that had windows shot out.

Neighbors tell LEX 18 that the shooting all started with an argument and then they heard a number of gunshots coming from the parking lot near. Surveillance video from a nearby business shows two men jump into a dark colored SUV and flee the scene.

The coroner has confirmed that one of the victims, a 19-year-old male, has died from his injuries.

Right now, no one is in custody.