In September 2017, a corporal with the Wheeling Police Department in West Virginia was investigating a case of malicious wounding. The victim in the case had previously testified against the suspect in a domestic violence case involving the victim’s mother. When the suspect was released from prison for the domestic violence charge, he and an unknown female suspect approached the victim in a grocery store parking lot. The female suspect attacked the victim from behind, punching and kicking her to the ground. Both suspects continued to beat and kick the victim in the body and face while she was on the ground, badly injuring her. A friend of the victim approached the suspects with a baseball bat to intervene, and the male suspect pointed a gun at her before both suspects fled the scene.

The investigator knew only the name of the male suspect. He accessed the FBI’s National Data Exchange (N-DEx) System and quickly found a record from East Liverpool, Ohio, that included a known female associate of the male suspect. The investigator obtained the driver’s license photo of the female associate and showed it to the victim, who positively identified the photo as the female suspect. The investigator issued warrants for malicious wounding for both subjects, along with an additional warrant for wanton endangerment for the male suspect for brandishing a weapon. “Without the lead from N-DEx, it may have taken much longer to identify the female suspect, if at all,” the corporal said.

For more information about how your agency can use the N-DEx System to help identify individuals, contact the N-DEx Program Office at ndex@leo.gov or call 304-625-0555.