Cincinnati Men Caught Stealing from Cars in Fort Thomas Sentenced to Multiple Years in Jail

In September of last year at around 2:30 in the morning,  Fort Thomas Police officers Brandon Laffin and Wayne Dutle were patrolling the Fort Thomas streets in tandem, when they saw a car idling on the street. Instinctively, they made a stop and found David Holt, 33, from Price Hill, in the car with stolen merchandise that included computers, iPads and stolen money.

Later, after interviewing him, officers found Paul Fraley, 34, also from Price Hill, and arrested him with similar charges.

This week in a Campbell County courtroom, both men took plea deals that would send them to jail for eight and ten years, respectively.

Aside from the receiving stolen property over $10,000 charges, both men were also charged with with possession of drug paraphernalia and public intoxication.

Prosecutor, Corey Plybon, worked the case for the Commonwealth. He said the pair stole property from seven cars in Fort Thomas that night, which totaled close to $20,000. The big ticket item, according to him, was a therapy computer used for patients suffering from ALS, who have little to no motor functions.

Fort Thomas has seen a rash of car break-ins over the last several years and according to Fort Thomas Police Lt. Rich Whitford, nearly all of them have involved vehicles that were unlocked.

"These two officers were specifically detailed to look for subjects who may be breaking into our citizens' cars. We have been getting hit hard in recent years," he said. "Both of these subjects admitted to breaking into cars. 

This was great police work by our guys."

Commonwealth Attorney, Michelle Snodgrass, agrees with Whitford.


"It was really important to have a quick resolution to this case. These individuals took anything and everything of value and we're glad to get a good result on behalf of the Commonwealth and the City of Fort Thomas, where they were causing damage," she said. "We're thankful to the Fort Thomas Police Department, who did a great job of handing this case to us, but the result for this kind of case is rare. It's a good reminder for residents to be cautious. 

"Corey Plybon, who worked on this case, is a resident of the city. He's invested here and knows firsthand how this crime is affecting his neighbors, so it was good to see him get a successful plea deal from these individuals," said Snodgrass.

Holt and Fraley were sentenced on February 21.