00:00We noticed a pickup truck in the center lane.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be discussing 10 instances where otherwise standard police procedure resulted in major discoveries.
00:12When Hayward comes up to the car, he sees that the seat is out.
00:18Israel Keyes
00:19The life of Israel Keyes was unfortunately one with a history of trouble and trauma,
00:24with reports of violence and antisocial behavior dating all the way back to his early youth.
00:30It's hard to explain how he made me feel, but I felt unsafe being near him.
00:35The former Army serviceman killed at least three people prior to his arrest in 2012.
00:40Officers in the area of Lufkin, Texas, were admittedly on the lookout for an individual matching Keyes description,
00:47per a bulletin that had been released by case investigators.
00:49Then a short time later, a man comes out, he gets in the vehicle, and he starts to drive away.
00:55So when Keyes was stopped for driving over the speed limit, personnel on the scene uncovered stolen money,
01:01as well as an ATM card belonging to one of his victims, Samantha Koenig.
01:06He has a daughter, and you did that to somebody else's daughter.
01:10I don't understand.
01:11Mohammed Bilal El-Amin
01:13He spent nearly 30 years evading custody, yet it only took a routine traffic stop by Ossany County, Georgia deputies
01:20back in 2022 to nab Mohammed Bilal El-Amin.
01:24I'm not a criminal, I'm not a crook.
01:27This fugitive from justice was on the run after fleeing to avoid prosecution for the 1994 murder of Jafford Tucker.
01:34Authorities in Georgia were able to identify El-Amin after they initially brought him in for various driving infractions.
01:41Today was his worst day ever, and the greatest day for me in my family.
01:46The ultimate evidence of his true identity arrived after police booked him and took his fingerprints.
01:51It turned out that the man calling himself Reyes Sekem was wanted for murder.
01:56Sooner or later, you know, law enforcement's gonna continue to look until we find people.
02:01Bruce Allen Davis
02:02The police may not have detained serial killer Bruce Allen Davis for any traffic violations, but they did nab him
02:09while the criminal was doing something else illegal, namely, trying to steal a car.
02:14Davis was held firmly responsible for the deaths of at least three individuals, including a prison warden, at the time
02:20of his initial arrest.
02:21Witness accounts placed Davis' car near the scene, and forensic evidence linked him directly to the crime.
02:28However, Davis' prior life as a drifter also allegedly placed him within areas that were roughly analogous to other crimes
02:36he confessed to while in custody.
02:38These included the specific targeting of gay men within the areas of Washington, D.C. and New York City.
02:44Keary Moore
02:45Moore was one of multiple people involved in a shooting that left teenager Xavion Escobar dead on the evening of
02:51October 14, 2015.
02:53The former, who allegedly only drove the car on this night, initially cooperated with police, but changed his tune and
03:01refused to testify against other named individuals in the case.
03:05Moore was discovered during a routine traffic stop by police officers, and was initially sentenced to 8 and a third
03:11to 25 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder.
03:15This was despite the D.A. admitting to Moore that testifying against the actual shooter could have significantly lessened his
03:22sentence.
03:22Larry Eiler
03:23He was known as the interstate killer, or sometimes the highway killer, a man who preyed upon the gay male
03:29communities of Illinois and Indiana.
03:31Larry Eiler confessed to the murder.
03:33Eiler, himself a gay man, frequently targeted hitchhikers as well, and it was this sort of cruising that led to
03:39his first arrest by authorities, who picked up Eiler after a routine traffic stop.
03:44The victims of two separate knife attacks in 1978 and 1982 identified Eiler as their attacker.
03:50He was eventually convicted for multiple murders, including those of Daniel Bridges and Stephen Agan.
03:56I think Steve just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
04:00A posthumous confession added many more names to that list.
04:04Passing away from AIDS-related complications while on death row, Eiler is a chilling reminder of how vulnerable certain communities
04:11are.
04:12Stephanie Marie Binder
04:13The family of four siblings were likely relieved to find out that Stephanie Marie Binder ran a red light in
04:19a stolen van.
04:20I'm filled with all types of emotions.
04:22This illegal action prompted police to pursue Binder and pull her over.
04:26It was then up to the officers at the scene to use their intuition in order to surmise that something
04:32was off about the four children in the back seats.
04:34They began speaking with the driver, and noticeably, the body language of the driver was just off a bit.
04:40Further investigation revealed that Binder had actually abducted the children while the four were walking to school.
04:46This story thankfully had a happy ending, but it also speaks to the legitimacy of and efficacy of these sorts
04:52of stops for seemingly routine violations.
04:55The mother of those four kids, I asked her, how are her kids doing?
04:59She says, physically, they are fine, but they are still very upset about this entire situation.
05:06William Suff
05:07His name isn't one that's routinely mentioned amongst other higher-profile serial killers, but the violent pedigree of William Suff
05:14remains no less disturbing.
05:16Suff had already spent time in prison for the murder of his infant daughter back in 1974,
05:21but a release on parole in 1984 resulted in another, lengthier killing spree that lasted over five years.
05:29The modus operandi of targeting sex workers and later dumping their bodies in or around Lake Elsinore, California,
05:36eventually led to William Suff being known as the Lake Elsinore Killer.
05:40In 1991, a Riverside task force finally had the description of a man suspected of murdering at least 11 innocent
05:48women.
05:50But as police tried to close the net around the elusive killer...
05:54His reign of terror came to an end, however, after a routine traffic stop resulted in his being put behind
06:00bars for life.
06:01I think he was born with this tendency to violence and cruelty, and he actually had that within him,
06:09but so do a lot of people, and they don't act on it and they never do anything with it.
06:13Peter Sutcliffe
06:14He was a prolific British serial killer dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper,
06:18a brutal criminal who targeted women and young girls back in the mid-70s and into the early 80s.
06:25It had an enormous social effect on the country.
06:28Yet all it took was for police to stop Peter Sutcliffe on the evening of January 2, 1981,
06:34to discover the Yorkshire Ripper with yet another potential victim, sex worker Olivia Reavers.
06:39The officers had no idea they were about to arrest a man who'd murdered 13 women and evaded the authorities
06:47for over five years.
06:49Sutcliffe was brought into custody thanks to the false plates on this vehicle,
06:54while further searches of the scene came up with weapons he had hidden while being detained.
06:58He was given 20 concurrent life sentences, dying in prison in 2020.
07:03My attack did shape my life and my outlook.
07:07Ted Bundy
07:08It's unfortunately one of the most well-known names when it comes to the world of true crime and serial
07:14killers.
07:14In fact, his own attorney reportedly called him, quote, the definition of heartless evil.
07:20Ted Bundy confessed to 30 murders committed between 1974 and 1978,
07:25and it was due to the quick-thinking actions of a Utah Highway Patrol officer
07:30that Bundy was able to be apprehended on August 16, 1975.
07:34The killer notably sped away from the patrol car upon sight, leading officer Bob Hayward to follow in pursuit.
07:49Masks, weapons, trash bags, and some rope were found in Bundy's car.
07:53Although, authorities didn't have enough hard evidence to detain Bundy for long during this initial arrest.
07:59Bundy would be apprehended again on February 15, 1978, in Pensacola, Florida, for driving a stolen car.
08:07He would later be sentenced to death and executed in 1989.
08:10All he said is, I'd like you to give my love to my family and friends.
08:15That was Ted Bundy's last statement.
08:25Before we continue, check out this single from SoundMojo's Adia, Songs from Iran,
08:30reimagining Persian melodies as modern rock, metal, and pop songs.
08:34Check out the full track and album below.
08:51Joel Rifkin
08:52All it took was a missing license plate for Long Island state troopers to pull over Joel Rifkin,
08:58a serial killer who targeted sex workers.
09:00If he turned on the overhead lights, he actually hit the siren to let him know that we're behind him.
09:06Rifkin led those officers on a brief chase when they attempted to pull him over during the early hours of
09:11June 28, 1993.
09:13Those same officers discovered the body of Tiffany Bresciani after searching Rifkin's vehicle.
09:19Tiffany loved music and she loved Mozart.
09:24She just was very intuitive.
09:27Bresciani's boyfriend, David Rubenstein, was a member of the influential punk rock group, Reagan Youth.
09:33And it was his direct intervention in informing police the make and model of Rifkin's Mazda that likely contributed to
09:40his capture.
09:40We'd ask him, you know, how many have you done before?
09:44You seem like you've done this before.
09:45And he said 17.
09:47Rifkin was later convicted and sentenced to 203 years in prison for his crimes.
09:52Can you think of any other routine ways in which criminals were finally brought to justice?
09:57Let us know in the comments.
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