AFSCME Member Helps Police Nab Robbery Suspect

by Clyde Weiss  |  February 27, 2013

James Darren Duncan (center), a member of Local 1791 (AFSCME Council 62), stands with Richmond Police Department Chief Kris Wolski (left) and Richmond resident Russell Mabry. (Photo credit: City of Richmond)

When Richmond, Ind., Sanitary District employee James Darren Duncan, a member of Local 1791 (AFSCME Council 62), heard a broadcast description of a truck driven by a robbery suspect, it jogged his memory. He’d just seen a similar vehicle on his route.

Duncan immediately contacted Richmond Police Capt. Jim Branum to tell him what he knew. Police followed up, finding a man scraping a decal off a red pick-up truck. It was the same decal a passerby spotted on a truck a day earlier. That passerby connected the truck to a local store robbery that same day and notified the police.

Once the details of the robbery and suspect truck became public, Duncan realized that he, too, had seen the suspect vehicle and knew where it was. As a result of his quick thinking, police secured a warrant to search the suspect’s home. He was later charged with one count of armed robbery.

Richmond Police Department Capt. Bill Shake told a reporter for pal-item.com, “We would not have been able to solve this as fast if it had not been for citizen input.”

Duncan and Richmond resident Russell Mabry – who gave police the initial description of the suspect’s vehicle – were honored on Feb. 4 with a commendation from the Richmond Police Department. Duncan’s proclamation stated:   

“Your dedication to the quality of life in Richmond and your community spirit and sense of teamwork as an employee of the City of Richmond; and with your assistance in locating the vehicle involved in the series of Village Pantry robberies is to be commended. You have raised the bar for many to achieve.”