Technology Leads To Arrest Of Jenks Man For Package Theft

Jenks Police say technology helped play a role in a man's arrest.

Police say this arrest is due to a helpful community and an observant police officer working together.

Tulsa resident Anne Trees has surveillance video which captured a man walking up to her porch Friday afternoon, taking a package and driving away. 

"I could see this white van driving into the driveway. The guy gets out, goes to the porch, grabs the boxes, gets back in and leaves," Trees said.

At first she was not going to report the incident.

Trees did, however, post pictures to an online platform called Nextdoor that allows users to talk and share information with each other in their communities. 

Flash forward to Sunday, when Jenks police pulled over a van on a traffic stop. 

"We actually had a passerby recognize the van, and he said, that looks similar to the van I saw on the Nextdoor app," said Corporal Michael Gauldin . "So he stopped and talked with the officers, and said, 'Hey I think this is the same van.'"

That man's name is Nick Elder.

Police say they found the same clothes in the vehicle that matched the surveillance video from Trees.

They also found addresses and phone numbers for other people, and a stolen package from Glenpool.

But police did not find Trees's items.

They also asked Trees to file a police report, which she did. 

"To us, it's huge, because we're here to serve the general public. In turn they act as our eyes and ears," Gauldin said.

Police say technology is a great tool, but are asking people to take the next step and call them no matter how big or how small they believe the crime may be.

"I'm encouraging others to also file a police report if they have not," Trees said.

Elder was arrested on complaints of possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of stolen property, as well as other complaints.