Victim quickly solves GPS-device theft

The Voorhees police never had a chance to investigate the theft of two GPS units from a township family this week.

By the time they were alerted by Debbie Adams, her Web-savvy husband, Ron, had already found the culprits.

The navigation units were taken from each of the Adams' unlocked cars some time after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. Ron Adams realized Thursday morning that the units were missing.

He went straight to his computer, while his wife chased down a passing officer.

"I was like, I'm going to go on Craigslist real quick; maybe they're stupid enough to do this," said Adams. His wife "flagged down the officer at the end of our street, and I had it before he pulled up. It was literally a matter of minutes."

The alleged thieves had listed the units for $60 each and posted their phone number on the advertisement. Ron Adams, national advertising director for Philadelphia Media Holdings, The Inquirer's parent company, printed the listing and handed a copy to arriving officer Robert Scapicchio.

The Voorhees Police Department put together a sting operation, posing - through text message - as prospective buyers and arranging a meeting spot. When the two 16-year-olds arrived, police arrested them for receiving stolen goods. Their names were not released because of their ages.

Adams, 37, had better luck this time than in August, when his GPS was stolen in a parking lot, and he prowled Craigslist posts for three weeks expecting it to turn up.

"It's not often that you see this stuff or you get it back," said Voorhees police Capt. Louis Bordi. Thieves "don't hold onto it long, which makes it difficult."

Bordi said that it was common for burglars to hawk their wares via Craigslist and that the police department often monitored the site. For this theft, though, Bordi said, Adams had located the GPS units before police even had a chance to investigate.

Bordi urged Voorhees residents to lock car doors to avoid future thefts, because GPS systems are "quick, easy money."

With at least one GPS unit recovered and high hopes for the second, Adams said he was glad this theft had a happier ending than the last time.

Police "said to my wife that I should kind of win detective of the year for this," said Adams, "because they never are able to retrieve these things."