NYPD interview

Thursday, March 11, 2021 – 9:15 a.m.

Detective Magee contacted the New York Police Department regarding Daniel Collier and emailed details to help the NYPD attempt to locate him in their city.

Subsequently, Detective Magee followed up by phone with NYPD Detective Fleming.

Participants

• YCSD Detective J. Magee
• NYPD Detective A. Fleming

Detective Magee: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me, Detective Fleming.

Detective Fleming: No problem.

Detective Magee: As you know, we're looking into a possible missing person, Daniel Collier. In my email, I asked if you could find anything out about him. Were you able to track him down?

Detective Fleming: Well, he didn't come up in our system, so he doesn't have a record. I checked to see if we could find any utility bills, employment records, bank accounts, that kind of thing, but nothing came up. Now, you said that he was supposed to be living with an art collective, so that's not unusual. A lot of these artist types tend to stay off the grid for the most part.

Detective Magee: Were you able to locate the art collective? Something to do with the name "5Pointz"?

Detective Fleming: Right, 5Pointz was a graffiti space in Queens that got painted over a few years back. Caused an uproar among local street artists, as they like to call themselves. A few groups have sprung up around it, especially after it was taken down. I was able to find a group that calls itself "5Pointz Forever." They're holed up in some warehouse in Brooklyn.

Detective Magee: Did you talk to them?

Detective Fleming: Yeah, I talked to a guy named Jimmy James, goes by the moniker “Jamz.” He basically started the collective. I asked him if he knew Daniel Collier. Sure enough, he said that Daniel—or "Defekt" with a "K" as he's supposedly known—was supposed to move into the warehouse at the beginning of January, but he never showed up.

Detective Magee: Did this Jamz ever talk to Daniel directly?

Detective Fleming: He said they had been emailing back and forth. I guess they had some mutual contact that got them in touch with each other.

Detective Magee: When was the last time they spoke?

Detective Fleming: I'm not sure. He just said they were emailing each other, and that Daniel was supposed to show up right after the new year, but he never did.

Detective Magee: And he hasn't heard from Daniel since then?

Detective Fleming: Nope.

Detective Magee: Do you know who the mutual contact was?

Detective Fleming: He said her name was Kristina McCarthy, a former teacher of his. Apparently, Jamz used to live in Oxford and went to the same high school as Collier. 

Detective Magee: What was your impression of this Jamz character?

Detective Fleming: Typical artist type, except that these so-called "street artists" walk a fine line between artist and criminal, so they tend to be suspicious of cops, and he was no exception. It took a bit of finesse to convince him that I was only interested in locating a possible missing person.

Detective Magee: Can you give me a description of him?

Detective Fleming: Caucasian, about 6 feet tall, in his early 30s, lots of tattoos, scraggly blonde hair.

Detective Magee: Did you talk to any other members of the group?

Detective Fleming: There were a few others there when I arrived, but none of them wanted to talk to a cop. Jamz would only talk to me out in the hallway, wouldn't let me come in.

Detective Magee: Did they seem like shady characters to you?

Detective Fleming: Well, of course. They are shady characters. But I'm sure the only crimes they're committing are acts of vandalism and probably some drug use.  I wouldn't peg them as the violent type.

Detective Magee: I see. Well, if you find anything else out, please give me a call.

Detective Fleming: I'll do that. Good luck, detective. I hope you find your missing guy.

Detective Magee: Thanks for your time.

Interview ended – 9:27 a.m.