Last week there was an emergency at my place of business. We were running low on available private investigators and had a case up in Idaho that needed to be done. I told my boss I'd go if he needed me. So I got a call at about 12:15am saying I was being called in for duty.
I initially joined this company, Tinsley Investigative Services, to be a PI back in 2004 but my prior criminal record allowed me to get my license denied. So I stayed on with the company and served legal papers while I finished out school. I then moved to AZ for 3 years and when I got laid off and couldn't find a decent job in AZ, I made the call and joined forces again with Tinsley.
I reapplied for a license because it had been several years since my run ins with the Man, so I figured I would be on the fast track to getting a PI license. But again, the State of Utah found me to be unfit. So I stayed on serving papers and joined up with the TIS sister company Centurion Security.
I hold many positions and titles here for both companies: Fleet manager, Process Service Manager, Mobile Patrol Supervisor, Director of Marketing, and now Private Investigator.
You see, in Idaho there is not statute that requires a person to be a licensed investigator. Now, that is not to say I just got sent up there with a "good luck kid," salute. I have been trained in the ways of investigations. From mobile surveillance to pre-texting, vantage points, pertinent footage capture, and more. So I wasn't being sent in blind.
The long drive to western Idaho isn't one I enjoy but when I got there things started happening. The man I was investigating, I was told, was faking a neck injury possibly. Reportedly a couple bails of hay fell on his head and he broke a couple vertebrae but this man was out playing basketball. I found him at his sister's home. He appeared when a taxi came to pick him up and take him to his doctor's appointment.
I followed him to the appointment, he looked hurt to me, but I am there to get footage and the the insurance company and the courts decide if there is abuse of the system. He used a walker and had the assistance of a friend the whole time. I caught him on tape exiting the medical building and getting into the cab, and then again at his sister's home exiting the cab. All in all I got about 15 minutes of quality footage of him moving around.
It made for a long day because after the 3.5 hour drive to Idaho, 7 hours of surveillance, I still had to drive home and the weather was coming. I had to deal with several areas of heavy snow on lonely highways. But I made good time and good money and closed the case with ease.
I would say it was a successful stake out and operation. I know my boss appreciated my willingness to help. That's how we roll here. This is a fun job.
