RPD recovers stolen Jeep, does nothing about the BB gun the owner found inside

ROCHESTER, N.Y. There is a review inside the Rochester Police Department after a stolen Jeep was recovered and given back to the owner.

The review started because when the owner picked it up, he found a BB gun under the seat that police didn’t do anything about. RPD spokesman Lt. Greg Bello told me valuable property should have been collected when the stolen car was recovered and that includes the BB gun.

News10NBC obtained photos of the Jeep taken by the owner. One shows a stolen TV in the back seat. A photo shows stolen backpacks. There were also stolen license plates inside the Jeep. The BB gun was found under a seat.

Mark Woodhams is the manager of the Jeep’s owner. He spoke to me on the owner’s behalf.

Woodhams: “He was very shocked to see a gun and all the stolen stuff in the car. They really didn’t do anything except lock it up in the police impound lot.”
Brean: “And then call him to say we’ve got your vehicle.”
Woodhams: “That’s right.”

When he found the BB gun, the owner alerted the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office where he lives. A deputy determined it was a BB gun and left it with him. News10NBC actually covered the theft of the Jeep when it happened two weeks ago.

The video shows a getaway minivan casing the office parking lot. The thief got into the open Jeep and drove away behind the getaway van in seconds.

“He actually drove the car, whoever stole it, back into the parking lot on the same evening and broke into two more cars,” Woodhams said.

They found items from the vandalized cars in the stolen Jeep. The Jeep was found when it was abandoned after an attempted smash-and-grab.

“I understand the police might be overburdened,” Woodhams said. “But when you have all this evidence and stolen property you would think they would have processed it.”

RPD said the valuable property, including the TV and the BB gun, should have been collected. That’s what the internal review is about now.