GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. -- Vann Yates was fatally shot in his backyard one week ago. A witness helped create the sketch composites of the suspects and tips called into Guilford County Crime Stoppers help bring authorities one clue closer to catching the men responsible.
"The release of the composite sketches was huge for us. It was a big break in the case," said Brittany Jones, Guilford County Crime Stoppers.
Plastered on billboards, handed out on flyers or shared on social media, Jones says the key to getting more tips is to get more eyes on the suspect's sketches.
"For people to be able to visualize a suspect, I think it really enhances our chances of getting more tips."
Colonel Randy Powers with the Guilford County Sheriff's Office says they've received at least 30 tips through Crime Stoppers which he says is more than average.
Jones says not every tip is a lead, "but then sometimes we get really good tips where somebody says, 'This looks like this person,this is where this person lives, I think you should look into it.'"
Jones has a history in law enforcement and was trained to know what kind of questions to ask to get the most information from tipsters.
"We always ask them if they know the person's name, if they know where the person lives, why they believe the person is involved in the homicide?"
"We ask for any known associates of the person, we ask for a vehicle description, and really anything else that would be pertinent about the person that we can put in the tip to send to the sheriff's office."
After collecting as much information as she can from the tipsters, Jones types up a report and send it to the detectives on the case.
"We try to do as much investigation on our end before we send it over there to help them be able to jump on the tip more quickly," explained Jones.
"[We've received] quite a lot of calls actually from people who have looked at [the sketches] and think they may know somebody that fits that description. We're in the process now of running down every one of those leads. People are coming in with [tips] but we want more," said Lieutenant Brian Hall, Guilford County Sheriff's Office.
He added, "We want to keep this fresh in the public's mind as it is in ours, we want them to be as outraged about it as we are."
Tipsters can anonymously call, text or share a tip online. To share a tip online, go to ggcrimestop.org and send information via "Tipsoft." A coordinator will then contact the tipster through email. To text a tip, text 'BADBOYZ' and the tip to 274637. The phone number to call is 336-373-1000.
Jones says each tip is fully investigated and is never "too small."
"Our tips are just a piece of the puzzle. And just because somebody thinks that maybe they saw something that's not significant to the case, until you call and tell us that and we pass it along to the detectives, we'll never know or not," said Jones.
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