Police say social media helped end string of southern Indiana trailer thefts

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A traffic stop for speeding and running a red light brought ended up in a police chase and an arrest that put a man behind bars for a string of Southern Indiana thefts.

On Thursday, Brad Spencer once again reviewed video of his trailer being stolen, something he's watched and re-watched more times than he can count.

"He's grinding off the lock," Spencer said as sparks lit up the dark screen. "It's a very very angry feeling."

The video was taken at 2:40 a.m. on May 20 outside Spencer Machine and Tool in Jeffersonville. It captures the moment the suspect drives off with the trailer.

"There he goes," Spencer said. "It took him, like, 20 seconds. It looks like he'd done this at least a dozen times before."

Spencer posted the footage to Facebook and found he wasn't alone. Other victims shared similar stories in post after post. Spencer began to see a commonality. Many of the posts showed the same car in image after image, all over southern Indiana: a 90s model Toyota Camry with a door that didn't match.

"This is an instance where social media paid off," Spencer said.

Social media not only gave clues to the suspect's identity, but it also revealed the extent of his crimes.

"This has been going on several months," Spencer said. "I personally know of 50 different trailers this individual has taken. At least. At least."

Police now say Donnie Russell is to blame. Court records say officers in Jackson County caught him in the midst of a getaway with a trailer from American Family Insurance attached. This time, he was driving a Dodge pickup.

Police captured Russell but not before a brief chase and having to tase him. Russell is now charged with stealing trailers in Jackson and Clark counties and has cases pending in Scott and Floyd counties as well.

Russell already had forgery charges dating back to 2019, but for the last few months, his court hearings have been delayed.

"There's no question that COVID-19 has delayed justice in cases," Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said. "It's resulted in people released on the streets that should be in jail."

While Russell has been on the streets, police said people like Spencer have been losing their stuff. But prosecutors said justice delayed will not be justice denied.

"The time to pay the piper is coming up for a lot of these folks, and they're going to find that there's accountability," Mull said.

Spencer said he's taking it all in stride.

"It is frustrating, but I understand this is a serious situation we're in right now with the COVID-19," he said.

Law enforcement also believes Russell may have been involved in trailer thefts in Louisville based on pictures and video of the same car caught in the act, but at this time, there are no charges in Kentucky.