AirPods lead Caryville PD to suspect, thousands of dollars in stolen items

Persistence of Det. Jacob Fox, technology help return stolen items to owner

CAMPBELL COUNTY, TN (WLAF)- Caryville Det. Jacob Fox spent Memorial Day afternoon piecing together details of a crime resulting in an arrest and the return of stolen items to the victim.

A man from Lexington, Ky., filed a report with local authorities and then called Fox to join the investigation for items that had been stolen from his vehicle. The victim told Fox that his stolen AirPods were showing them near Popeyes at Exit 141 of I-75.

It was also noted a fraudulent charge on one of the victim’s credit cards was earlier reported at the Love’s Travel Stop at Richmond, Ky. The victim went to the travel stop, watched the store’s video surveillance and described the suspect to Fox. He also told the detective that the suspect was driving a white GMC Sierra pick-up truck.

Fox soon located the white truck at the Pilot Travel Center. The suspect was found asleep in the back seat of the cab. Fox made contact with 39-year-old Vladimir Rodriguez and immediately detained him, because a firearm had been stolen in the original theft.

Rodriguez initially denied having any of the stolen property, and he allowed Fox to search his truck to clear his name, according to the police report.

Fox located credit and debit cards all around the truck with the name of the 27- year- old victim’s name on them. That find sent Fox into a deeper search. Inside the bed of the pick up, Fox allegedly located 16 tools and accessories, 10 of which were DeWalt brand, expensive cologne, and the AirPods totaling an estimated $6,000, based on the police report. Receipts from Love’s and Bucee’s, fraudulent purchases, were also discovered along with a Springfield hand gun. Prior to the discovery, the victim had described to Fox what was stolen.

All the stolen items were taken in the same incident at Lexington. Fox and the Lexington police detective discussed the case, and LPD will also have charges for Rodriguez. It was learned that Rodriguez was a convicted felon currently on probation in the state of Florida for multiple felonies.

Both agencies, Caryville and Lexington, agreed to return all property to the victim upon his arrival to the Pilot Travel Center.

Vladimir Rodriguez, 39, Orlando, Florida, is charged with theft of property under $2,500 and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-05/26/2026-6AM-PHOTOS COURTESY OF CPD CHIEF AARON EVANS)