SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The South Bend Police Department reports officers responded to a call on Wednesday after a resident reported his truck and trailer had been stolen while he was finishing up mowing a family member's lawn.

Police say they had very little evidence at first since the victim didn't see who took his truck or which direction it went in afterwards.

The victim also couldn't recall his license plate number.

Police say an analyst working with the city's Real-Time Crime Center when the call came in, was listening over the radio and was able to locate the feed from a city-owned camera pointed in the direction of the reported theft.

SBPD

The analyst quickly reviewed the footage and saw a man walk past the victim’s vehicle, turn around, go back to the vehicle, and enter it before driving away. Police say the analyst was able to pass on this info to the active call, including the direction of travel.

Authorities then checked Flock license plate readers along the assumed route of the stolen truck.

Police say they obtained a partial plate of the victim's truck due to the trailer blocking part of it.

The analyst then utilized other databases to get the full plate number and informed SBPD officers within 15 minutes of the truck being stolen, authorities said. Police say using more cameras integrated into the Real-Time Crime Center, they were able to track the stolen truck, relaying the location to responding officers.

The report states a Flock notification then came in notifying police the truck had gone into St. Joseph County's jurisdiction. Later, SBPD officers along with the St. Joseph County police found the vehicle and a traffic stop was conducted.

Police say the driver matched the description of the suspect seen taking the truck in the surveillance footage.

The suspect, identified as 26-year-old Julius Thomas of South Bend, was arrested on an outstanding warrant and charged with Auto Theft, a Level 6 Felony, by the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office.

Thomas was taken to the St. Joseph County Jail, where he remains currently.

When police pulled Thomas over, the trailer was no longer attached, but through further investigation, officers were able to locate the trailer and the victim's property was returned.