Transcription
True manhunter.
That is correct. Those that would, you know, that are in hiding either through technology, dark web, things like that, anonymizers or those at least on one occasion killed a child and fled to another country to prosecution. And so the FBI can get involved in that if requested and that was given one of those cases. So for sure.
Did that have any effect on the longevity of your career or when you wanted to exit the kind of work you did? Well, I I spent 20 years in Crimes Against Children, which the the average shelf life for an agent is about two years in that arena.
So, you guys are in the private sector now.
That's correct. Right. Yeah. We own our own private investigative firm, you know, creatively named Baker Private Investigations. You know, you know, we do backgrounds. We do criminal work, civil work, but a lot of what we do now, you know, thanks to running up to you and your associates is distressed property acquisition, assisting in that. I've got two special guests here today that know how to find the people so we can get our deal done. Say hello to Larry and Sean Baker.
Hello. Hello.
Morning y'all. Thanks for coming.
Good morning. Thanks for having us.
Yeah. Larry and Sean both have an interesting background, um, law enforcement. Um, both out of the FBI. One of them went into local law enforcement for a while. Um, but we've had a lot of good luck working with them um to plug in that missing piece I'll tell you about. So, we're going to talk with the Bakers today and find out what it is they do and how that can help folks like y'all uh get your deals done.
From the law enforcement field, can you tell me how that starts? I mean, you're growing up as your kids one day and you say, "Gosh, I'm going to be a firefighter or FBI agent or SAPD." How's that look?
Well, for me, you know, you in my era, you always watched X-Files or Silence of the Lambs and had an idea of what you thought the FBI was.
Mhm. Uh, but never had met an agent. Really didn't know. And then
You just looked sexy on TV.
Well, yeah. And I'm sexy. So I thought that could be me. But u I was an engineer working bored. Um, not fulfilled. And my best friend from high school, who's also an engineer, said, "Hey, I'm I'm going to the FBI academy in a couple weeks." And I thought, "What are you talking about? You have to be a police officer to do that, right?" And he's like, "No, you have no idea about this process and really what it takes to be an agent." And I said, "Well, I I'd like to hear about it." And so for me, that's what I did. I followed him through the process. Went to his graduation at Quantico and was just blown away uh by the quality of
You had like an inside scoop.
Well, yeah. And so you're you're looking at all these quality people and and things you'd only seen on TV. And boy, that fire got lit inside me. And so I didn't know if it would be for me or if I'd even be selected, but I knew I couldn't keep doing what I was as an engineer, unfulfilled. So that's how it started for me. I put my hat in uh in the ring and got selected. So that was back in '98, '99.
Wow, that's exciting. So you're a field agent. And Sean, when you got in, what was your role?
Dispatch, criminal history type stuff, just different analyzing and helping with cases. And then, you know, as you know, Larry and I were together and I kind of watched him being
Wait, how'd that happen?
They have rules around that.
Well, yeah. So, uh, yeah. So, she joined right out of high school in '96 on the admin side and I uh graduated from the FBI Academy in July of '99, got sent to San Antonio where she's she's from Floresville working in the San Antonio office and I land here and uh married at the time to another lady um but uh see her day one walking down the hall was very impressed and she worked in the squad uh next adjacent to my squad and so we became friends over time and ultimately She she was such a hard worker. She would volunteer to help me on some of my cases on the admin. So, so we developed a friendship there and so that's you know, first marriage dissolved and I put my hooks into her pretty quick to make sure she didn't get away. But that's kind of how our paths came together here in San Antonio.
So you put the bad guys away, the real bad guys away.
Yeah. The worst of the worst. uh you you never uh lack motivation to get up in the morning to to take care of that, you know, and those those people that are praying on the most vulnerable of our society. So did that for 20 years.
True manhunter.
That is correct. Those that would, you know, that are in hiding either through technology, dark web, things like that, anonymizers, or those that at least on one occasion had had killed a child and fled to another country to avoid prosecution. And so the FBI can get involved in that if requested. and I was given one of those cases and so so yeah, true true manhunter, that's for sure.
Did that have any effect on the longevity of your career or when you wanted to exit the kind of work you did?
Well, I I spent 20 years in crimes against children which the the average shelf life for an agent is about two years in that arena. But
Whoa.
we had a very unique situation here is that the reason I came to that squad is my initial training agent who's a legendary uh figure in the FBI. We were best friends. He asked me to come to that squad because he had taken over supervisor. And I'm thinking, I don't know about that because, you know, you're going to be exposed to some re really traumatic stuff, child pornography, you're going to interact with with the children. And I'm an empath, so I wear the emotions of the people around me. And so, but I trusted uh my friend and uh we we soon after coming to that squad, we had a couple new agents come in and I just bonded with them and we had such camaraderie that all of us, Jeff, Jeff, my supervisor and the newer agents, we stayed together for 20 years working the stuff and taking care of each other. So, you know, we we are a family and
That sounds very like the Wolfpack.
That's a fact. we became somewhat legendary within the FBI because nobody stays together with the same group in the FBI for that long. You just move or you switch squads. So, it was incredibly unique, but because of that, we developed a lot, you know, a really u specific and and um, you know, special skill set to go after a lot of these really high-end uh offenders. And so, people would come to us from even different divisions to give us cases to help help them with. And so, um, so anyway, that's why I stayed in it so long. So to answer your question, yeah, that the material is traumatic and it takes a toll.
And 25 years as an agent.
So Sean, you didn't complete your career at the agency, did you?
No, I left to finish my college degree and then, you know, hanging around him, watching him, he was on SWAT and getting dressed up, loving his job and everything. I thought, well, I want to be cool like him. So I didn't want to be an agent. I didn't want to have to travel and go to the academy. And I decided just to stay local and join SAPD. And so that's what I did.
So then that was the balance of your career for how long?
I only stayed at SAPD for three or four years and then um when I gave birth to my the our baby um I decided to walk away from that. Just had had enough and didn't I didn't want to leave my kids without a mom.
So y'all transition out of that. You go private sector. What's the first couple years look like?
Well, I've only been retired for a year and change.
Oh my gosh. Is that it?
That's it. Yeah. So I retired. First day of I'll call it freedom was October 1st of '23. And so she had done all the the real work to develop the firm and get everything ready. And so we hit the ground running on some civil stuff in October of '23. And so we've we've only had about a year in the few months.
What were the first couple cases outside of your you know career? What did that look like when you went private?
Uh we worked for on a big uh medical um lawsuit. Uh we there's a NDO on that one, but I'll just say that it's a medical issue that was international in scope. We also did a pretty interesting case about a uh another NDO case, but it involved uh purchase of a very expensive car that to determine if it was legitimately the car. And I'm a car buff, you know, I'm a mechanical engineer and love racing. And so uh it and so we got to get in the weeds. She she learned all about automobiles through that one. So
So it wasn't a real car transaction. It was money laundering or fraud.
No, it was a real car. It just wasn't it did not have the resume that it was purported to have. So
Oh, the what do they call that? The
It's like when they do this with art pro, what is it?
You got me there. So
I've read that before. But yeah, basically if it doesn't have like the exact VIN number, the exact production, the exact like race credit card car driver at this race, it ain't it.
That's right. And that's what the
So your c your your client overpaid for it. Looks looks that way.
Did you nail them?
Uh well, we handed it off and walked away. You know, it's kind of like being in the FBI. You don't you don't get involved in the prosecution. That's an attorney's job. But you are a factfinder. You know, you you put the story together and say, "Here it is." And if they don't want any more work, you walk away and hope you hear how it ends up. But you don't really know sometimes.
Wow. So you said yes. You affirmed what they thought might be true. Here's the info and proof. Y'all go figure it out.
Correct. Disappointed uh client cuz that's not the answer he wanted. But you know
What what was the value of the vehicle?
About 10 million.
Holy cow.
So yeah.
Wow. So in the scope of your services when it comes to a real estate company,
you know, what what does that kind of look like up to this point?
So uh well really we learned working with you guys because I don't know much about real estate. Sean knows a little bit more. For her dad was a land developer, but I didn't understand the concept exactly of what you do and how you do it. So, boiling it down for you guys, it's just you do a really good job on the front end identifying who you need found and what type of approach if you want us to approach what type of approach we're going to execute with that person. And so, it is very much like what I used to do in the FBI. We would receive leads in the FBI. That's how you receive a case.
Okay? And you get a lead package and it says, you know, here's your objective, here's who we think the target is and if they have any suggestions and here's some background maybe uh and then you go about solving that problem. It's it's called, you know, they are called leads. Most leads come from other offices or from headquarters and it's very similar. You give us leads. This is what we want to accomplish. This is our target. This is what we've tried and and and these are the results, but we need it. We need it done by this time. It's very similar to what we've
You know, been exposed to for many years.
So when someone out in a real estate deal realizes I can't get this figured out on my own and they want to come to y'all, they probably should bring a scope, schedule, and a budget. Sometimes the budget needs to be flexible because they don't know what they don't know.
That's right.
But well identified people, well identified ideas or even if they don't know the people's name, they say this is the information that we have that would relate to them. Can you maybe even help me find the name?
Right? A lot of times what we'll just get is is a name and an address.
Um, and from there you can really
Take that address, search that address.
How much can you get from just a name and address?
With an address, you'll get a list. We can get a list of anybody associated with that address. And most times
Where does that come from? Sorry to interrupt.
TLO.
Okay. So use a data program that is proprietary or you have access to only.
That's right.
Correct.
And you start with just the name and address and then you start kind of peeling the putting the pieces of the puzzle together. You run that address. It'll give you a list of anybody associated with that address and majority of the time the name that you guys give us is going to be on that list.
The the databases we have now are similar in quality. It just we had a lot more right in the FBI you can plug into anything. But if you'll go to YouTube and say advanced uh search tips in Google,
Okay?
There's all kind of tutorials that will will reveal how powerful Google really is. And then you you you realize how you should be conducting your business versus just blindly putting in a name or whatever. It's how to connect phrases uh that'll hone in your search.
And so I got pretty good at that and I enjoyed that. I enjoyed snooping on people.
So
So for Lori, what did you find?
Well, Lori, you didn't find a whole lot, right? That was dated. That's the first project with with you guys and and so but I did ultimately find her Facebook profile. Okay. And it was under uh the the name Lulu, not her name. And so the way we found that as well,
How did you understand that it was her?
Well, you had to um, you know, my daughter should probably teach this part. She's really good, you know, social networking stalker. But what you do, what I did is I found her deceased husband's Facebook page. And then I looked under the only picture that was there were four likes. Under the likes was the name Lulu and their last name together. I thought, well, I'll give it a shot and click on that. And sure enough, that's a there's a picture of her and her husband uh on there. Uh that's the uh the profile pick. And then there are a number of rather bizarre posts. Um, one not so bizarre says, "I am Steve's wife." Okay. Well, I got the right person.
Got a ringer.
But then uh the other post uh were uh definitely bizarre and uh showed a lot of animosity towards a particular person on Facebook, but then would just trail off to rambling. So it indicated to me she's either got a mental issue, she's got a drug issue, or a combination of the two.
So none of that stuff was coming back good. That's a pretty good indicator, like Larry said, that it's not your average.
You're working the data. You weren't just looking at making decisions. You're basically working it.
Correct. That's right. Yeah.
Um, so once we determined, you know, she's she's not going to be found in a database, uh, we did a vehicle search. We were able to find her license plate to her vehicle, put that in a license plate reader, which produces all kind of results. It shows you where it's last been seen, photos of the vehicle, and it even plots it on a map. So, zooming in to that, we were able to pinpoint, okay, she's pretty much at this same hotel in this same city most of the time.
You've now narrowed down from the person, corroborated the person, corroborated their network. Now, you've gotten down to generally specific location.
Yeah. Pretty much where her vehicle's parked.
What was the time process from like the first time we turned it over until you're at the point you're at right now?
Lori took a little more time than the average one because she's, you know, she's not hitting in any of the databases or anything like that. I don't know.
And she's not local. I think it was 4 days.
Oh my god.
When you said that she took more time, I'm thinking like what, a month or two? Like
No, her average
Before lunch almost.
Our average turnaround time on the supposed can't find is 6 to 8 hours.
And you went and found her.
Yeah, we stopped we stopped by basket for her
At the hotel. At the hotel.
We took that gift basket and tried to have it delivered to her, thinking, you know, we'd catch her coming down. But
What was in this gift basket? Like lighters and glass pipes or something.
He did include some wine, actually.
Oh, no. It was classy. It was nuts and chocolate and HB. We got it on the way, put it together for us. And Sean, you know, put a lot of effort into that. So, I
I put things I like just in case she didn't want it,
Right? But unfortunately, she kept it. But we put the letter from your attorney in in that gift basket and she tried to, you know, work the the person at the counter uh to to get her to come out.
The gatekeeper, so to speak.
She was um and she looked like someone that even though it was a nice hotel that someone that may have also consumed drugs. I'm not trying to pass judgment, but they you could tell they were they were uh definitely tight friends. So we over hear the phone call.
Wow. There's information being
Wait, so you came up and made the request and then did y'all y'all weren't there together then? You might have been waiting in the lobby. Is that how that would work?
I was waiting in the lobby, disconnected from Sean, so they didn't put us together. That way I could lurk and uh Sean did that part by herself and I observed but didn't react.
And then when you left, you were still the eyes and the ears,
Right?
That's right.
That's fascinating.
So, you know, we get turned down, but she says leave the basket at the door. I mean, at the at the counter. And so that's all right. We're getting there. We know she's here for sure and and that was confirmed. So, you know, the car is there. We know she's physically in the establishment. So, I just lurked and waited for a number of hours, but then came Lori and she popped up and camped out at the desk.
So, then at that point, do you blow your cover and say, "Hey, I want to talk to you, Lori." Or were you just observing still?
I'm observing. Sean's with our daughter. And so, I film her a little bit. I think I sent, you know, to the group text some some some teaser footage that, "Hey, she's here." And then I tell Shawn that it looks like she's ordering pizza. Give me a second. Let it play out. Let her go outside and then come down. U guys had furnished us a large stack of cash which Sean had as well as some documents and
Also known as purchase money.
That's right. Uh and uh so Sean comes downstairs and immediately makes a beline to Lori, you know, outside. So I just watched so she'd have to tell you the rest of the story, but it was uh was quite amusing from my perspect.
So then what happens next?
Well, I I approached Lori and I have the cash kind of in an envelope. So, I, you know, flash the cash at her and I'm explaining, you know, why I'm there about the property and she just loses it and starts screaming at me that I'm stalking her and how did I find her and yelling for the manager and going to call the cops. So, it didn't go well.
Yeah.
But Sean's no snowflake. So, it's like, you know, this is like being on the east side again. Crazy people. So
Oh, right. Yeah.
Nothing came of it then. um, you know, other than obviously I separated from her u but she did get the letter that was in the gift basket and I think ultimately that's what she used to contact
That's what got the ball rolling for us. We couldn't find this lady to save our lives and we had pretty good data.
But at that point, she did take the letter to an attorney. We call got a call from an attorney and ultimately
We like getting attorneys involved, especially when you got someone who's just that far in left field. Now we know they're well represented. Now we know they're getting good advice. Any transaction they enter into with us has been vetted and it's as good as they're possibly going to get for the situation. So that's a that's a good move there.
Yeah.
The Google
Oh, advanced Google search.
Advanced Google.
You can do like, you know, they have like the people finders, been verified. I mean, they have all those different ones that are online that you can pay for. Um
In my experience that
For 20 19 bucks you can get a report with some decent
Info. It's decent. It's not as accurate as, you know, TLO or things that we have access to, but it's a good starting point for sure.
Well, this has been great. I appreciate I appreciate y'all's time today. Um, Sean and Larry, if someone wants to get a hold of y'all because they need help finding folks or finding information, what's the best way to do that?
I think the best way is just shoot us an email. You can email us um baker.sean bpitruthfinders.com or you can give us a call. My number is 2110-632-4644.
Okay. Call and ask for either of you. You better have that handover package teed up. Give us something to good go on good to go on.
Um, and that's it.
Yeah. We'll be off and running. And what we tried to do is sit down and give you a budget. Like here's here's how much time we think it's going to take. Here's how much we think it's going to cost. Tell us if you want to shut off at X increments. So they know.
That's helpful.
Yeah. It's helpful for them so they don't get in some big project that they didn't expect to. So Yep. Turn it over and we'll we'll work with you. So
Awesome. Well, I underwrite these folks myself because we work with them a lot. So, have you got any other last words?
No, it's been a great ride. I've enjoyed the last year with you and your guys. Look forward to more Lori type situations and because we're all about the dopamine. So
Good. I'll try to supply you some more.
Yeah. Thank you.
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