Fast-food receipt in stolen car leads Hamilton police to 16-year-old suspect

Bodycam footage shows the moment Hamilton Police officer Matteo Ramundo found the receipt. Photo by Handout /Hamilton Police

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Police in Hamilton, Ont., say they arrested a youth in connection with a stolen vehicle investigation after finding a telltale fast-food restaurant receipt in the car.

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In a press release, police said the investigation began early Tuesday morning with reports of an abandoned vehicle blocking a live lane of traffic in the area of Highway 8 and King Street East, near the city’s Cathedral Park.

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Police Constable Matteo Ramundo arrived at about 7:50 a.m. to find an unoccupied black Ford Explorer with its hazard lights blinking.

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“At the time, we didn’t know it was stolen,” Ramundo told National Post in an interview. “I ran the license plate of the vehicle, and it came back as stolen out of Halton Region.”

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Ramundo then did a standard search of the vehicle. “Nothing out of the ordinary,” he said. “There was a bunch of stuff thrown around, which was the original owner’s belongings, which we typically see when they rummage through these cars. And then on the driver’s side of the vehicle I noticed that there was a piece of paper. It ended up being a receipt for the McDonald’s that was literally 500 metres away.”

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The date on the receipt was July 20. The vehicle had been stolen a week before that. Ramundo headed for the golden arches.

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“And usually, when I’ve seen similar occurrences like this, they always go through the drive-through,” he said. “They don’t actually walk in. And now, with all these drive-throughs having great video footage … the staff at McDonald’s were extremely helpful and cooperative with me. They told me I could go in the back and rummage through the camera footage to see if I found anything helpful.”

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He did. “I saw the exact same vehicle going through the drive-through the prior morning, and then you can see the driver very clearly. I recognized him because I’ve had previous occurrences with him, and from similar dealings.”

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After a standard call for backup, Ramundo’s next stop was the youth’s house. It had been just two hours since the vehicle had been abandoned.

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The 16-year-old male suspect, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was arrested and charged with one count of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, and one count of failure to comply with a youth sentence order.

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Ramundo described the youth as “very laid back” and “cooperative” during the arrest. “He asked if he could see the video,” the officer recalled. So I showed him the video … and he goes, ‘Bro, from the McDonald’s? Are you kidding me?’ So I had a good laugh when he said that.”

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Hamilton Police said in its statement: “This investigation serves as a reminder that even seemingly insignificant pieces of evidence can play a critical role in identifying suspects and advancing police investigations.”