ROYSE CITY, Texas — Three Houston men have been arrested after investigators used license plate reader technology to track down suspects accused of stealing $40,000 from a construction contractor in a "jugging" theft, according to the Royse City Police Department.
Police said the theft occurred Friday, June 26, at a residential construction site in Royse City.
According to investigators, the victim, a construction contractor, had withdrawn a large amount of cash from a bank in Dallas before driving to the construction site.
While at the location, the contractor saw a man dressed in black clothing and wearing a black mask enter his vehicle before running to a white SUV and fleeing. After checking his vehicle, the contractor discovered that $40,000 in cash had been stolen.
Police explained that "jugging" is a crime in which suspects follow victims from financial institutions to another location with the intent of committing a theft.
Although the victim was unable to obtain the SUV's license plate number, the responding officer used the department's License Plate Reader (LPR) system to identify vehicles traveling behind the victim after he left the bank.
Investigators located a white 2025 Hyundai Kona with Georgia license plates that had been captured by an LPR camera just seconds behind the victim's vehicle. The victim later identified the SUV as the same one he saw leaving the construction site.
Using the LPR network, detectives tracked the suspect vehicle's direction of travel and alerted law enforcement agencies along its route.
The Crockett Police Department located the SUV on U.S. Highway 287 and conducted a traffic stop.
Officers found three suspects inside the vehicle. During one suspect's arrest, officers recovered the stolen $40,000 in cash. Investigators also found black masks and gloves inside the SUV.
The suspects were identified as James White, Edward Cannon, and Aaron Carter, all of Houston.
The three men were transported back to Royse City and booked into the Hunt County Detention Center on charges of Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, a second-degree felony.
The Royse City Police Department credited the Crockett Police Department for assisting in the arrests and praised its officers for their use of license plate reader technology, which investigators said was instrumental in identifying the suspect vehicle, locating the suspects, and recovering the stolen money.
