IAMI SUCCESS STORIES 

2010 Investigator of the Year
Peter Clark, C Claims, UK - pdf, posted 2/17/10

2009 Investigators of the Year
Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Oregon - pdf, posted 6/16/09

2008 Investigator of the Year
Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, Enforcement Division
Progressive Insurance, Louisiana - pdf, posted 03/17/08

2007 Investigator of the Year
Arizona Department of Insurance Fraud
Todd & Associates, California - pdf, posted 5/1/07

2006 Investigator of the Year

April 11, 2006

Three Baltimore Cops Receive “Investigator Of The Year” Awards

International Association of Marine Investigators Honors Trio

Officer  Barry  Sweitzer,  Detective  Ricky  Whitmire  and Detective Chris Millirons,  all  of  the Baltimore County Police Department, were recently recognized as “Investigators of the Year” by the International Association of  Marine  Investigators. The award is sponsored by BoatU.S. The trio put two  individuals  behind  bars  who had stolen dozens of recreational boat outdrives worth over $100,000.

The  investigation  began when Officer Sweitzer, concerned about the theft of  boat  outdrives, began visiting marinas, getting to know dockhands and local  watermen.  He passed out flyers describing the theft of outdrives – the expensive, lower propulsion units that are commonly found on the stern of many motor-powered vessels.

As  thefts  occurred,  Officer  Sweitzer got the name of a suspect who was believed  to  be  fencing outdrives. With this information, the department assigned Dets. Whitmire and Millirons to the case.
Surveillance  was  set  up  and  a GPS tracking device was surreptitiously installed  on  the  suspect’s  vehicle.  Within  24  hours the vehicle was tracked  to  a marina where it spent a mere 18 minutes before heading to a marine   salvage   business  that  buys  and  sells  used  parts.  Shortly thereafter, it was discovered that four outdrives had been stolen from the marina.
 
A  gathering  of  regional police agencies decided that all of the vessels which  had  been  targets  of  thefts would be dusted for fingerprints and other  evidence  gathered.  BoatU.S.  Marine Insurance and Mercruiser, the outdrive  manufacturer,  were  both  enlisted to identify previous thefts. “Data  dots”  – tiny bits of film the size of a grain of sand that contain identification  data - were applied to hundreds of potential theft targets in order to identify the outdrive if it was stolen.

After  many  hours  of  surveillance, a second suspect was identified, the marine  salvage  business’  owner, who was selling reconditioned outdrives online. But still more proof was needed.

Finally,  the  suspect  was  followed to a storage yard which held several boats.  During  broad  daylight,  the  suspect  removed  an outdrive in an incredible  five minutes and quickly departed to another business where he sold the outdrive. An undercover detective was then sent to “purchase” the evidence.

Three  search warrants were issued shortly thereafter, including the first suspect’s  residence,  his  vehicle, and the second suspect’s business. In addition  to  tools  and  marina pass keys, a total of 36 stolen outdrives were recovered.

The first suspect pled guilty and received a five-year sentence and agreed to  pay  restitution;  the  second  suspect received 15 years at his first trial and awaits a second in an adjacent county.

Karlton  Kilby,  immediate  past president of IAMI, said, “This case shows that  initiative and teamwork produces results. Baltimore area boaters can rest  a  little  easier now that these two felons are off the streets,” he declared.

IAMI  is  devoted solely to training law enforcement officers and civilian marine  investigators  in  both  the mechanics and the art of marine theft investigation.   Over   10,000  law  enforcement  and  insurance  industry personnel have been trained to date.