Off-Duty Officer Uses Phone App to Track Down Stolen Items

An off-duty Fredericksburg police officer used the tracking app on a stolen phone to find backpacks that were taken from a school.

The officer was picking up his son from cross-country practice at James Monroe High School around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, when his son and another student noticed their backpacks were gone.

The two backpacks contained wallets, cell phones and other valuables that belonged to three students.

Police say one of the missing phones was equipped with a tracking app, which led the sergeant and another parent to the 2400 block of Charles Street.

With help from on-duty officers, four males were taken into custody; two of them were in possession of the stolen property.

Gerry Turner, 32, and Deangelo Anderson, 28, were arrested and charged with felony larceny, authorities said.

Police add that while Anderson was in the back of a patrol car, he was able to get his handcuffed arms in front of his body. When an officer removed one of the cuffs to put Anderson's hands back behind him, Anderson escaped.

He was apprehended two hours later, and a charge for resisting arrest and escape was added to the larceny charge. He is being held on no bond while Turner is being held on a $1,500 bond.

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