civil forensic

Chapter 1346 Carjacking Case

Jiang Yuan repeatedly examined the crime scene photos. The case had few clues, which was why it remained unsolved 15 years ago. Now, there were actually more clues, especially with the identity of one of the victims confirmed. Theoretically, this should open up more avenues for investigation. However, the reality was that the Li Huimin case had already been thoroughly investigated…

"It's all settled. We'll take the lead on this case. I'll go talk to Director Wu and confirm jurisdiction." Huang Qiangmin told Jiang Yuan this, then went out to the conference room to find the director of Anwan City Bureau.

Jurisdiction is important, and so is communication. Since the crime scene in this case is in Anwan City, the investigation will likely have to be conducted there. Therefore, the cooperation of the Anwan City Public Security Bureau is essential. Otherwise, the other party could refuse or even expel the Ningtai County Public Security Bureau personnel.

This situation is actually quite common. For example, if a company sells its products to another region, or has a dispute with someone in another region, and the other party files a police report in that region, jurisdiction naturally lies with the police in that region. However, to arrest the company's负责人 (person in charge) locally, normally, the consent of the local police is required. In the past, public opinion often considered this model outdated and a manifestation of local protectionism. However, with the large-scale emergence of deep-sea fishing, the advanced nature of this model has become apparent.

Jiang Yuan didn't concern himself with that and continued scanning for evidence. He wasn't really involved in management matters, and the system hadn't provided him with any related skills, but criminal cases ultimately required evidence to support their investigation; they couldn't just rely on political guidance... right?

Liu Jinghui also sat down and silently flipped through the case file. He knew this case would be extremely difficult to solve without even looking at it, and after reading it... he became even more convinced of this idea.

Liu Jinghui couldn't help but glance back at Jiang Yuan. If it were a few years ago, when he didn't have this giant dragon, he would most likely have said "PASS" when he encountered a similar case. He used English because it didn't conform to Chinese values, but if a case couldn't be solved, no matter how righteous the values ​​were, it still couldn't be solved.

Now that Jiang Yuan is here, Liu Jinghui has a glimmer of hope. He carefully reviewed the case files, believing that the dragon would demonstrate its due dominance at the appropriate time.

After a long while, Huang Qiangmin arrived with Zhang Limin, Wu Jingwei, and Liu Zhuangshi, who all looked solemn.

These three individuals represent the provincial department, the municipal bureau, and the criminal investigation detachment, respectively, and thus can largely represent the opinions of these three levels.

Among them, Wu Jingwei, as the bureau chief, held the most power. He nodded solemnly and began to speak…

Zhang Limin snatched it away.

Zhang Limin didn't have as many preliminary steps as Wu Jingwei. Upon seeing Jiang Yuan, he preemptively said, "We have absolute zero tolerance for the murder of a police officer's family member. On behalf of the Provincial Department, I firmly support Director Jiang Yuan and the Ningtai County Bureau in this case!"

Wu Jingwei hissed and couldn't help but glance at Zhang Limin sideways, thinking to himself, "No wonder he's a government official. Taking sides is just instinct for him, isn't it? His ability to read people is even better than a conman's, isn't it?"
Wu Jingwei coughed twice and said, "Our Anwan City Bureau will definitely provide full support, guarantee logistics, and charge into battle..."

Zhang Limin hissed and turned to look at Wu Jingwei, thinking to himself, "Goodness, you with your thick eyebrows and big eyes are willing to do anything."

Before he could process what was happening, he heard Liu Zhuangshi whisper beside him, "Our criminal investigation team also fully supports this!"

Jiang Yuan stood up, looked at the three of them, nodded slightly, and said, "This case is not simple!"

"Full support!" Wu Jingwei spoke first this time.

"We fully support you!" Zhang Limin and Liu Zhuangshi replied without hesitation.

Huang Qiangmin nodded with satisfaction. The victims in this case included people from Ningtai County, while the crime scene was in Anwan City, Pingzhou Province. Therefore, obtaining the support of Pingzhou Province and Anwan City was very important. Jiang Yuan was able to obtain the support of both the provincial and municipal levels with just one sentence. Regardless of what that sentence was, obtaining it was the goal in itself.

As the person in charge on the front line, Liu Zhuangshi said eagerly, "Director Jiang, what do you suggest? We'll execute it immediately."

His two superiors also nodded naturally.

"Regarding this case alone, we still have relatively few leads," Jiang Yuan said, then looked at Wang Chuanxing and asked, "How's the investigation going at home? Are there any records of the car being stolen in Ningtai County or Qinghe City?"

Wang Chuanxing had already contacted his family and immediately came over with his notebook, saying, "There were no car theft records in Ningtai County that day. In Qinghe City, there were two cases. One was an SUV that was stolen, and the other was a black Xiali car that was reported missing at the same time."

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent.

Using the "high probability" often mentioned in court, any normal person could guess that this was the stolen car!

"Tell me," Liu Jinghui said, perking up. He needed clues to make his deductions.

“The car owner, Shen Shun, was 38 years old at the time of the incident. He was 1.75 meters tall and weighed about 140 kilograms, which matches the footprint characteristics of a male victim.” Wang Chuanxing glanced at Jiang Yuan and then said, “15 years ago, Shen Shun was a driver for Qinghe City Yinhai Agricultural Production Materials Co., Ltd. The car was also a company car. After communicating with the family, we learned that Shen Shun often drove the company car to other cities to drive an unlicensed taxi.”

"He's the driver?" Huang Qiangmin breathed a sigh of relief. This further reduced Wei Zhenguo's suspicion.

Liu Jinghui said in a low voice, "A person from Qinghe City, driving an unlicensed taxi in Ningtai County, and picking up the victim Li Huimin? Then why come to Anwan? Would Li Huimin have suggested coming to Anwan?"

"Kidnapped to Anwan?" Liu Zhuangshi cooperated and said, "If it was a carjacking, would that be a carjacking? If Shen Shun was operating an unlicensed taxi, would that be equivalent to robbing a taxi? In terms of time, carjackings were indeed rampant 15 years ago."

Liu Jinghui thought for a moment and said, "If it's a carjacking case, the murderer is the passenger. Was Li Huimin's companion an accomplice, or someone else?"

“According to our investigation into the Li Huimin case, she disappeared after get off work, and none of the people around her had a motive to murder her…” Huang Qiangmin was the captain of the criminal investigation team at the time and was very clear about the case.

“If it’s a standalone taxi robbery case, then this case will be difficult to handle,” Liu Jinghui frowned.

"Indeed." Liu Zhuangshi, as the head of the criminal investigation team, also scratched his head subconsciously.

Police officers with some seniority are very familiar with cases of taxi robbery. Those who worked in the 90s and early 00s saw taxi robbery cases at least every quarter, if not every month, and every year they saw cases of taxi robbery and murder.

The reason why taxi robberies are so frequent is primarily because taxi drivers have stable incomes and are easy to approach.

Taxi robbery cases are ultimately crimes of the interest in money. In the 90s and early 00s, taxi drivers were considered a high-income group with stable daily operating income, and the amount was considerable. In many cases, it might be higher than the monthly salary of an average person in a small city. As long as a robber was willing to do it, he could be guaranteed to get a sum of money.

In addition, taxi drivers and unlicensed taxi drivers also have the factors of "hailing a taxi" and specifying a destination, which reduces the difficulty of approaching them. Compared to robbing shop owners, robbing a taxi is much easier; you can just pick up any taxi on the roadside and commit the crime in a secluded location.

Moreover, in many places, the vehicles themselves can be sold for a considerable sum. For example, in Pingzhou, part-time unlicensed taxi drivers like Shen Shun are very popular. Even taxis with obvious exteriors can find a market, and the cost of salvaged parts is also quite high.

Therefore, robbing taxi drivers was once the preferred crime for many financially strapped criminals lacking criminal skills. With enough "courage," one or a few people could easily carry out a robbery. If they wanted to earn more, they could find a way to sell the car, perhaps even making more than robbing an armored truck.

At the same time, what makes these cases popular with criminals and frustrating for the police is the considerable difficulty in solving them.

Taxi robberies are essentially random crimes, involving unspecified vehicles and unspecified victims, making them extremely difficult to investigate. Perpetrators often also instruct drivers to take them to specific, secluded locations.

Finally, in cases like taxi robbery, the primary crime scene is often inside the vehicle; however, in cases involving murder, the vehicle is either burned or sold, thus eliminating the primary crime scene...

For the police, the standard practice for these types of cases is to link them together. This is because information from a single case is often insufficient, and once a robbery is successful, it is usually difficult for them to give up such a lucrative source of income, especially for criminals lacking criminal skills, as there are few ways to make money through pure violence.

Liu Jinghui also immediately thought of this point and looked at Jiang Yuan, asking, "Can the cases be combined?"

He was still looking forward to this possibility.

Jiang Yuan gave a firm and unequivocal answer, both unexpectedly and logically: "Yes!"

Such a firm answer drew the attention of everyone present.