New Jersey family’s picture catches theft in the making
(CNN) — In today’s technology-laden society, hearing of crimes solved or cold cases cracked with state-of-the-art tech tools has become commonplace. But for one New Jersey family all it took to catch an alleged thief was a camera and a little luck.
John Myers and his family from Bloomfield, New Jersey, were in Madison, Wisconsin, on Saturday to attend a friend’s wedding that was taking place at the state capitol building. According to Myers, the family went outside after the ceremony to take pictures. He decided it would be a good idea to take a family portrait with his digital camera, and set this bag down next to building before stepping away to snap the shot.
When Myers captured the scene, unbeknownst to him or his family he also had caught a person red-handed in the act of stealing his bag.
“Looking back now it wasn’t a good idea to leave my bag so far away,” Myers told CNN Tuesday. “But I just wasn’t thinking of it at the time.”
Although Myers did look at the picture quickly, he admits he was only checking to make sure everyone came out okay. It was only after walking away that he realized he had forgotten his bag — which contained his wallet, hotel and rental car keys and other family valuables and necessities.
Myers says that when he got back to the spot, the bag was missing. No one had turned it in at the information center inside the capitol building.
He realized then that someone must have taken it. After stepping outside of the building and seeing wedding photographers, he decided to take a second look at the pictures he had just taken.
It turned out to be the right hunch. In the background of the family portrait, Myers saw an image of someone reaching into his bag as it sat. He took it to the Wisconsin Capitol Police, who immediately went into action.
“The capitol police are amazing,” Myers told CNN. “I fully expected to have them tell us to just fill a report or (to) tell us there wasn’t much they could do. but (they) responded immediately and because they did, they were able to catch (a suspect).”
After Myers showed the pictures, two officers were immediately dispatched to look for a suspect, while a third stayed with Myers and sent out a description.
Within 15 minutes, Myers said, police had not only arrested a suspect, but they had also located Myers’ bag and all his belongings, some of which had been thrown away during the heist.
According to Wisconsin authorities, a homeless man identified as Glenn R. Lambright was arrested in the incident. He was released Tuesday from Dane County Jail on a signature bond. It was not known Tuesday night whether Lambright had an attorney.
Myers, meanwhile, said he was pleasantly shocked by the quick police response. “I caught the picture but I was even more amazed they managed to find the person since all they had to go on was his clothing — his face wasn’t in the picture,” Myers said.