In Lushong District, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, Mr. Huang’s home was burglarized, with valuables worth 13,000 yuan stolen, including a token of love he had given to his wife. Seeing his wife upset, Mr. Huang vowed to catch the thief. Being a fan of crime dramas, he began to mimic the investigative techniques from those shows to track down the suspect.
To his surprise, after half a month, he caught the thief! Even more astonishing, the suspect’s characteristics perfectly matched Mr. Huang’s earlier deductions. The suspect was a notorious thief responsible for over a dozen burglaries in the area recently.
Over 4,000 lunchboxes sold to buy tokens of love
According to mainland media reports, Mr. Huang and his family rented a room in a private home in Heyue Six Village, Lushong District. On the afternoon of November 9, after returning home from lunch with his family, they found their home in disarray — a thief had struck! Upon checking, they discovered that a laptop, tablet, and his wife’s jewelry, worth over 13,000 yuan, were stolen.
“These jewelry were the tokens of love I gave my wife,” Mr. Huang said. He and his wife have been in love for 12 years, having been high school classmates. His wife had given up the opportunity to attend university and, against her family’s wishes, went to Beijing with Mr. Huang to work, who had just over 1,000 yuan.
“In our toughest times, we lived on two meals of steamed buns a day and stayed in a basement.” Later, his wife worked tirelessly with him, selling lunchboxes, earning only 2 yuan per box. In total, they sold over 4,000 lunchboxes.
One day in 2011, Mr. Huang took his wife to a jewelry store in Beijing and picked out a pair of jade rings, a necklace, and a bracelet as tokens of his proposal. These pieces cost over 8,000 yuan, equivalent to the earnings from selling over 4,000 lunchboxes. Although his wife hesitated, Mr. Huang resolutely bought them.
Three years ago, they returned to their hometown of Zhuzhou and married. “For us, these are not just ordinary pieces of jewelry but memories of our struggles and shared hardships selling lunchboxes,” Mr. Huang said.
Mr. Huang was a fan of crime dramas and was determined to catch the thief and retrieve the tokens of love. “From the crime scene, it seemed the suspect broke in through the door lock. He also took the mouse and power cord when he stole the laptop, indicating he was experienced,” Mr. Huang said. He reported the theft to the police and drew inspiration from crime dramas to search for clues. Eventually, he caught the thief after half a month.
How did he catch the suspect?
Step 1: Creating a ‘Portrait’ from surveillance
“To catch the suspect, you first need a basic understanding of their physical characteristics, often referred to as a ‘portrait’ in crime dramas,” Mr. Huang said. The landlord had installed three surveillance cameras at the front and back doors of the building for security.
He saw an unfamiliar man appear on the surveillance footage between 12:14 and 12:40 on the afternoon of the 9th. “He was between 20 and 30 years old, with high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and a slim build. At the time of the crime, he wore a blue casual jacket and blue jeans,” Mr. Huang said. “What caught my attention was his shoes, which were originally white sneakers, but had turned a dirty yellow, very worn and old.”
He also compared the man’s height to his own 170 cm, estimating the suspect to be between 170-175 cm tall.
Step 2: Analyzing clues
The video showed the man staying in the building for over 20 minutes before leaving through the front door with two large bags. After a few steps, he seemed to notice the camera at the front door, hesitated for a few seconds, and then returned inside. The man then climbed over a 2-meter-high wall and left the scene.
“The fact that he climbed the wall without hesitation, not worrying about what lay ahead, suggests he was familiar with the area. His hesitation upon seeing the camera indicates he was temporarily staying in Zhuzhou. If he were a transient thief, he would have left Zhuzhou immediately after the theft, not caring about the cameras.”
Mr. Huang then checked the two roads leading out from behind the wall and found four places with surveillance. He visited each place, asking the owners to view the footage, but found no images of the suspect. “This suggests he never left the alley and lives within a 100-meter radius!” Mr. Huang deduced.
Step 3: Persistent stakeout
With these clues, Mr. Huang memorized the suspect’s appearance, took screenshots from the video, printed the suspect’s photo, and distributed it to seven or eight friends, describing the suspect’s features. “I guessed he would appear in the area again.” Half a month after the theft, Mr. Huang and his friends took turns staking out nearby streets, Internet cafés, pawnshops, and fast-food restaurants, looking for the suspect.
Step 4: Catching the suspect
On the evening of November 26, just after 6 p.m., Mr. Huang and his family stepped out of their door, and a familiar pair of shoes caught his eye three meters ahead. Looking up, he saw it was the suspect from the video! Mr. Huang signaled his wife to ensure her safety and take their child home while he quietly followed the suspect.
“After searching for so long, I was thrilled to encounter him finally. I felt a surge of strength,” Mr. Huang said. Although he was a few centimeters shorter than the suspect, he was more robust. After following the suspect for about 100-200 meters, he bravely tackled him from behind. “The suspect, perhaps guilty, surrendered after a brief struggle.” Mr. Huang immediately called the police.
The suspect, Liu, a 24-year-old man from Hengdong with a height of 173 cm, had a criminal record for robbery and theft. Since early November, he had rented a room in a private house in Heyue Six Village, Lushong District, just three buildings away from Mr. Huang’s home. The thief confessed to over a dozen robberies, and the details matched Mr. Huang’s earlier deductions!
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