In the early hours of December 28, 2011, the police obtained important intelligence that Li Xuesheng had committed a crime in Chengdong District of Linxiang City. At 1:30 AM, when Li Xuesheng, Ou Shu, and Li Xiubing were committing a criminal act on a taxi by the roadside, they were discovered by the police and arrested. On the evening of December 28, 2011, the investigating police once again acquired information about Xu Heng's activities in Chengxi District of Linxiang City. Around 11 PM that night, led by Captain Shen Jiawen and Deputy Captain Liu Zhaoguo of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, the police captured the criminal suspects Xu Heng and Liu Leng at a mall in Linxiang City. After the special task force was established, it decided to adopt an investigative model combining field investigations, stakeouts, and technical case-solving methods conducted simultaneously.
All cases occurred in Linxiang City, Yueyang, Hunan Province. After receiving reports from the public, the Linxiang Public Security Bureau conducted extensive visits, increased efforts in investigation and case-solving, and successfully cracked the case before the Spring Festival, with all six suspects, including Xu Heng, being apprehended one after another.
"Shatter Glass" Theft
"Shatter glass" is a term used by Xu Heng and his accomplices, specifically referring to the method where Xu Heng inserts a screwdriver into the window seam at the top of the car door window and slowly pries down to break the glass. His accomplices then pull the shattered glass out from inside the car. Then, a smaller accomplice climbs through the broken car window to steal items.
At around 8 PM on September 6, 2011, He Ping (a pseudonym) parked a Chevrolet Spark sedan under his residential building on Nanzheng Street in Linxiang City. The next morning at around 7, he found that the left rear door glass of the car had been smashed and a HP laptop worth over 3,000 yuan had been stolen. After reporting the case, He Ping spent over 300 yuan repairing the car.
After the meeting, the investigating police continued their comprehensive investigation based on the "portrait" of the suspects drawn at the "Zhuge Liang Conference."
Through investigation, the police learned that since July 2011, after being released from prison, Li Xuesheng had never returned home. Despite having no income, he always hung out with several young people of similar age, frequenting internet cafes, bars, and hotels. It was also confirmed that Li Xuesheng had a particularly close relationship with Xu Heng, who worked as an apprentice at a car repair shop in Linxiang City, and their whereabouts were unpredictable...
Within four months, they almost committed crimes every day, regardless of day or night. According to police information, a criminal gang centered around Xu Heng and Li Xuesheng broke the windows of more than 170 sedans, stealing high-end cigarettes, alcohol, laptops, and cash worth over 200,000 yuan. They sold part of the stolen goods for over 50,000 yuan, and the damaged glass was valued at over 60,000 yuan.
On the morning of August 9, 2011, at around 10 AM, Guo Ye (a pseudonym) reported to the police that at 10 PM the previous evening, he had parked a black Volkswagen 2000 sedan in a hotel parking lot in Linxiang City. At 7 AM on the 9th, he discovered that the front right glass of the driver's side had been smashed. Fortunately, there was nothing valuable in the car, but it would cost him hundreds of yuan to repair the glass.
A week later, a "Zhuge Liang Conference" was held at the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Linxiang Public Security Bureau. At this meeting, after synthesizing reports from various investigating officers and on-site inspections, the special task force basically determined that the series of thefts of valuables from car interiors in Linxiang City since August were committed by the same criminal gang. Further analysis revealed that these cases exhibited typical patterns and distinct characteristics.
These features can be summarized as follows: First, the tools used for the crimes mainly included screwdrivers, hammers, and flashlights; second, the criminals were not older, estimated to be around 20 years old; third, each crime involved not many people, estimated to be 2-3 individuals with clear division of labor—one responsible for breaking the glass, one responsible for entering the car through the broken window to steal, and one responsible for keeping watch; fourth, the crimes occurred at any time, day or night, with continuous characteristics; fifth, some of the criminals may have been previously or currently engaged in the automobile repair industry. Relevant investigators from the Linxiang Public Security Bureau said that according to the situation investigated at each crime scene, at least one of the criminals was particularly slim.
The last member of the gang, Li Kai, was captured by the police on January 4, 2012.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Linxiang Public Security Bureau, such cases occurred almost every day before the case was solved. What differed was the amount of stolen property in the smashed vehicles, but what was common was that there were bags in the cars that attracted thieves. The police reminded drivers through our newspaper not to leave bags and valuable items like mobile phones and laptops in the car after getting out, to avoid unforeseen circumstances.
The final suspect, Li Kai, was arrested on January 4, 2012.
Li Xuesheng's nickname is Xiaohei, and his alias is "Monkey." He is 17 years old. In August 2010, he was sentenced to 11 months in prison for theft by the Linxiang People's Court and was released in July 2011.
On December 9, 2011, the investigation finally showed a glimmer of hope.
The reappearance of the thief's shadow turned the case around. After receiving the report, Deputy Captain Liu Zhaoguo of the Criminal Investigation Brigade rushed to the scene with the police to retrieve surveillance footage. However, due to the distance between the installed surveillance system and the crime scene, the images on the video footage were blurry and faces could not be identified clearly. But it could be determined that three people were involved in the crime. The suspects were all relatively thin, dressed fashionably, moved agilely, and were around 18 years old. Finally, Liu Zhaoguo pointed to a very thin and short youth who always walked bent over on the video and said to his colleagues, "This person looks a bit like Li Xuesheng."
The investigation target was now focused on Li Xuesheng.
According to the investigating police of the Linxiang Public Security Bureau, the cash and proceeds from the sale of stolen goods by the criminal gang had been completely squandered. When the six suspects were arrested, they had very little money left on them. (All names of the suspects in the article are pseudonyms.)
To understand the characteristics of this criminal gang's offenses, the following case examples need to be mentioned.
Xu Heng and Li Xuesheng, after illegally obtaining their "first pot of gold," became addicted to theft and uncontrollably committed dozens of crimes in multiple areas of Linxiang City. By October 2011, Li Xuesheng had learned the "shatter glass" technique from Xu Heng. To "expand business and get rich quickly," they planned to split up and "shatter glass" in both urban Linxiang and suburban towns. After "investigating," they recruited social loafers Li Xiubing, Liu Leng, Ou Shu, and Li Kai to join them. Xu Heng took Liu Leng and Li Kai to commit crimes in Chengxi District of Linxiang City, while Li Xuesheng took Li Xiubing and Ou Shu to Chengdong District. They succeeded repeatedly. After succeeding, the two groups indulged in internet cafes, bars, and hotels, enjoying themselves fully.
Through interrogation, the police learned that Xu Heng, born in July 1993, was the core figure in this series of crimes and also the oldest member of the gang. Before committing the crimes, Xu Heng spent his days playing games in internet cafes to pass the time, later meeting Li Xuesheng. The two young men, sharing similar interests, became inseparable, pooling their money together. Soon, their funds dwindled.
At noon on October 21, 2011, Ma Liu (a pseudonym) parked a silver-gray Hyundai SUV in front of a restaurant by the Chang'an River in Linxiang City. Half an hour later, Ma Liu discovered that the right front door glass of the driver's side had been smashed and a brown Goldenlion backpack inside the car had been stolen, containing 38,000 yuan in cash. After reporting the case, Ma Liu spent over 500 yuan repairing the car.
Through repeated interrogations of the six criminal suspects, including Xu Heng and Li Xuesheng, they confessed to their crimes.
Xu Heng, male, 18 years old, worked as an apprentice at a car repair shop in Linxiang City from September 2010 to July 2011; after having a big argument with his mother over family trivialities in early August 2011, he never returned home...