The Sleuth

The Sleuths are back after everyone in the office spent some time sick. Jamie tracked down the flu bug to a phone in the jail and now that everyone is well again, we are back!

Brandon's Podcast The Fire Within Nutrition and Fitness is about his approach to a sustainable plan for fitness that is based on each individual he works with. His show is about the science behind nutrition and fitness and behavioral therapy to help us understand why we make the decisions we make.

Jamie talks about getting an Instapot and her first experience cooking with it. She then confessed to making fried chicken for breakfast! 

Brandon shares about his recent trip to Las Vegas and his experience on the strip this New Year's Eve.

Hear the answers to these questions in this week's game of True or False

• What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?
• A private investigator can tap your phone to listen to your conversations?
• A private investigator can access your social media accounts, whether or not all the privacy settings
  are activated?
• Evidence such as surveillance, video, or phone records can be used to assist attorneys with  proving alienation 
  of affection?
• A PI can help you find someone who owes you money?
• In situations where photos are needed and hard to reach places, PIs will fly a drone over a property to conduct aerial surveillance?
• Investigators can videotape a person inside a building by recording them through the window and being outside the building.
• All information on a subject like their criminal record driving history, phone number and old year pictures can be found on a single database at the same time?
• It doesn't matter how old or young a subject is. A licensed PI can look up personal information on that person? 

Private Investigators often deal with people when they are at a time of transition. Maybe they've been left by their spouse with their bank account cleaned out. That may be one of the best times to pursue a positive transformation in your life because exercise, focusing on getting better foods will help with depression, and to give you self-confidence.

Eating the wrong kind of foods can deplete the amount of serotonin produced in your gut. Eating the right kind of foods can help your body produce more serotonin and therefore help make you feel better.

Brandon shared tips on local stores to help you save money while still buying healthier options for those on a tight budget.

"And even if you can't afford organic, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 10 times out of 10, non-organic celery is a much better choice and fricking pop tarts."- Brandon Woolley

Exercise significantly changes brain chemistry. In fact, studies have found exercise to be more effective than most prescription medications for battling depression.

Brandon also talked about cognitive behavioral therapy which is reverse engineering bad habits. Brandon walked through an example of how cognitive behavioral therapy could help in a situation where someone ate poorly on Wednesday and decided they had already blown it that week and would start over again on Monday.

The Sleuth's also asked Brandon if in his experience a dramatic change in body weight or body transformation causes stress in the relationships of his clients. Brandon believes it does and it's best to try to go through dramatic changes together.

Also mentioned in this podcast

• Aldi grocery store
• Raleigh Road Runners Run Group
• F3 men's fitness groups
• FIA women's fitness groups
• The episode on "Sleep" on the Fire Within Podcast

Jamie mentioned a podcast called the Social Media Happy Hour podcast and how the Sleuth listeners should check it out. She and Lindsey talk about their 2020 personal and professional goals.

Lindsey shared her 2020 goals to be manage 20 cases this year, learn to manage her time better, and have the experience to do a case all the way through without assistance from the team at Blackman Detective Services.

Jamie shared her goals of creating policies and a handbook for BDS, marketing and networking (with Gazelle Intensity and 10X), and finally organization and building better relationships.

Every two years Private Investigators need to renew their license. In order to renew one of the requirements is continuing education requirements. Courses are approved by the NC PPSB.

The Sleuths discuss an upcoming interview with Brandon Wooley from the Fire Within Podcast where they will be talking about a plan for health and fitness that is sustainable. Many clients from BDS are going through a time of transition and it's in times of transition where we can either get out habits or create new ones. 

Also mentioned in this episode

• The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone
• Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University
• The Blackman Detective Services Facebook Page
• Verbal Judo Course
• Instapots 

This episode of Stumptown dealt with a felony drug charge against a minor for possession of prescription drugs who said she was framed by a group of entitled rich kids at a private school who wanted to see her get kicked off of the volleyball team.

Dex eventually found out that she was framed and by an unlikely source.

The Sleuths talk about some of the challenges facing high-schoolers to make good decisions and stay out of trouble while society and the schools are giving them more freedom.

Jamie said that somewhere between 80-90% of their cases have to do with infidelity. But unlike many of the dramatized TV versions of shows like cheaters or Stumptown most PI's don't normally get to see the confrontation. The client is presented with the facts and then it is their decision on what to do with the information.

Jamie shared a sequence of cheater stories from the Blackman Detective Services archive of real-life cases and how private investigation worked for their clients. They share multiple stories of wives who hired P.I.'s to find out what was going on with their husbands' erratic behavior.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Lori Gottlieb: How changing your story can change your life - TED Talk

Jamie talks about visiting clients in jail as a private investigator and the frustration of building trust with limited time and her excitement to be teamed up with a new lawyer who she believes is incredible.

The Sleuths talked about the security vulnerabilities of Ring doorbells and the recent cases of some being hacked and used to mess with people in their homes. Pro tip from the Sleuths: make sure you create separate accounts for each user instead of everyone using the same account and turn on two-factor authentification and then you will minimize your risk.

They also discuss security cameras and smart speakers, proper placement, and best practices for home security.

This week's episode of Stumptown is called "The Other Woman"

Dex was hired by Sue Lynn Blackbird to find out who was threating to hurt her. She found the culprit and sat them down with her accuser. This rarely happens in the world of most real-world private investigation work when lawyers are involved but can happen in cases where no representation is present.

Liz and Dex also ended up making a mistake that could jeopardize her relationship with Gray. The Sleuths still believe that Liz is up to something sinister that has yet to be revealed.

Also mentioned on this episode:

• Ring Doorbells
• Two-factor authentification

Get more info about Blackman Detective Services

• Facebook
• Instagram

B. Hill, from the popular podcast "The Ain't Shxt Show" joins the sleuths to shares some hilarious stories from working in insurance claims. An exploding tooth claim from a hard french fry at Wendy's. The case of stomach pains from a woman who at six taco supremes and a side of pintos and cheese at Taco Bell and a workers comp claim where the supposedly injured man is soaking up the sun in the sunny Bahamas, and a stripper with an injured spine performing the tango.

If you need the services of a private investigator to look into workman's compensation claims reach out to Blackman Detective Services today.

The Sleuths and B. Hill discuss episode seven of ABC's Stumptown called November Surprise.

Lindsey shared about a post she saw on Facebook of a dashcam capturing an accident and the Sleuths talk about dashcams. Should you own one? We talked about the NextBase 522gw Dash Cam 

The Sleuths and B. Hill play mad libs and get into the season.

Mentioned on this episode:

• WireCutter.com does cool reviews of tech gadgets 
• In the episode of Stumptown Dex used a Streamlight to distract the rival P.I. to defend herself against her ASP Baton
• The Stumptown Comic Book 
• Follow B. Hill on Instragram @Bhill_919 and Twitter @Bhillyaheardme

The Sleuths are real private investigators that help you find the truth when you really need to know.

This week they discuss episode six of Stumptown called "Dex, Drugs and Rock & Roll." Each week they break down an episode of Stumptown to talk about how it compares to the day to lives of real Private Eyes. 

Nationally, 7.5 million people are stalked every year.

Approximately 1 in 6 women and 1 in 17 men have experienced stalking at some point in their lifetime. (CDC, 2015)

The Sleuths discuss the types of stalkers, their motives and what to do if you believe you are being stalked.

They also discussed holiday safety tips for Christmas shopping this season:

• Be aware of your surroundings
• Don't text and walk
• Don't leave your purse in your shopping cart
• Don't leave your purchases in the back seat where they are visible
• Don't use ATM's where you don't feel safe
• Don't carry a lot of case

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Stalking Resource Site
• The Legal definition of stalking in North Carolina
• Title IX resources

Happy Thanksgiving from the Sleuths! We hope you had a fantastic holiday.

The Sleuths discuss how to notice the signs of sex trafficking and bring awareness to the issue so you can know what to look for and when to report. Jamie shared a story about going undercover as a Private Investigator to investigate a man who worked at a massage parlor who was thought to be giving more than just a traditional massage.

We shared startling statistics on sex trafficking crimes in the US.

In this episode, the sleuths talk about Stumptown episode five, called Bad Alibis. They look for real-life comparisons for private investigators from this television show starring Colby Smuthers. 

The Sleuths continue the case of the black widow where a truck driving husband who believed his wife was poisoning his daily mountain dews so she could move on with another man. He hired Blackman Detective Services to have the bottles tested. The client confronted his wife. The client suspected she was cheating. One day he didn't show up for work and his employer reported him missing. His vehicle had been pulled behind a workshop building. It's currently suspected that the wife and the boyfriend are to blame. He is still missing to this day. Three years after the client was reported missing the wife was found dead in a tributary leading to a large body of water. 

Also mentioned in this episode

• Project No Rest
• The Polaris project
• The SheWee reusable pee funnel

In breaking down this week's episode of Stumptown called "Family Ties" the sleuths highlight what rings true for real life and what is Hollywood myth for Dex the private investigator and main character in the ABC show.

They also share a mystery of their case involving a missing person, strange sleep-inducing bottles that had the seals broken and talk about some of the darker sides of being a private investigator.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Robert Brown of the law offices of Bryant and Brown is a fantastic criminal attorney in the Triangle.
• The Sleuth Tshirts were made by the fine people at Big Frog Custom Tshirts
• The 100th follower on the Sleuth Instagram account will receive a free Tshirt @thesleuth_bds

Both Jamie and Lindsey share their stories of becoming a PI.

Jamie recently purchased Blackman Detective Services and they are setting out to be real, not Hollywood stereotypes. Think less Pink Panther and more tattoos and dreadlocks. And looking forward to educating people about how the PI field works and how it can work for you. Blackman Detective Services (BDS) serves Raleigh and the surrounding areas.

"That is not your wife sir. You are not supposed to have your tongue in her mouth!" -Jamie

An entertaining segment of the podcast will be Jamie and Lindsey will be talking through the episodes of the new ABC show Stumptown that depicts a Private Investigator named Dex to compare and contrast what is accurate and what is Hollywood shenanigans. You're going to want to watch along and follow along in future episodes. 

Discussed in this episode:

• How to legally use a GPS tracker (Jamie shared a story of catching a cheater in a parking lot) when it is legal and when it is not legal to use a GPS tracker.
• Even though you can use the GPS information to confront someone, it may not be enough to hold up in court, unless you also have video surveillance.
• In order to qualify for a PI license, you must have three years of experience in private investigative work (the equivalent of 3,000 hours)
• Process service is when you need to locate and serve court papers.

Lindsey shared stories of creative ways they've served papers, including a story of serving papers to a mother in an Easter basket on baby's first Easter. 

The Sleuths are real private investigators here to help you find the truth when you need to know. With sometimes shocking, heartwarming, and hilarious stories from the field, they keep it real. Interviews with experts bring you insights on how people leverage P.I.'s in their lives and businesses. When you need to know, call the sleuths — licensed by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Jamie and Lindsey host this entertaining and informative podcast to educate individuals and business owners.