Secret life of Agent X
WHEN a Gold Coast woman suspected her husband was having an affair she never thought her life would turn into something like the plot from a B-grade Hollywood movie.
The woman took drastic measures, hiring the help of a private investigator.
It was then she found out the devastating truth.
Her husband was not only sleeping with another woman but he had a second house, second car, second boat, second set of kids and a second pet.
The woman was devastated and the man she had hired to catch out her husband was shocked, to say the least.
“It’s not common,” private investigator Alex Evans told the Bulletin.
“You think you are going to go on an infidelity job and you get a man with two lives.”
Mr Evans has spent the past 13 years lurking in shadows, digging online and helping put two and two together as one of the few private investigators working on the Gold Coast.
The small nature of the industry meant Mr Evans was once called for a job he ended up not being too enthusiastic about.
“I was once hired by a cult, but I didn’t know they were a cult at the time,” he said.
Mr Evans said he was just asked to follow a man when he visited the Gold Coast on
I DON’T HAVE ANY SUPER POWERS. IT’S NOT LIKE THE MOVIES.
ALEX EVANS
holidays. After watching the man for a few days of regular tourist activities, Mr Evans realised something was not right.
“The man had left the cult and had been followed for about 20 years wherever he went in the world,” he said.
Mr Evans is happy to tell stories about his work and concedes that even for a private eye, the job can be a bit dull at times.
But he does have one caveat – no names of clients.
Client names and details are kept private.
The 32-year-old is not what you would expect when you think of a private investigator.
Mr Evans cuts a tall, imposing figure with broad shoulders.
He describes himself as being tattooed.
“You have to be aware of what you look like,” he said.
“I’m pretty memorable and in some cases it would be unusual to see me twice in a short space of time.”
Mr Evans, who runs Agent X Private Investigations, said most of his work was in surveillance – following unfaithful husbands and wives or trying to catch out people who claim they are injured for insurance purposes.
Surveillance work meant Mr Evans was always looking for ways to blend in.
“I don’t set myself up near a park, for example,” he said.
Mr Evans said he also had to know how to look completely at home in places most people would not.
For a private detective, the job can mean a lot of waiting.
“I can spend 10, 16, 18 hours in my car just looking at nothing,” he said.
As he waits, Mr Evans makes sure he has enough food and water to last a day and most importantly, ensures his camera is ready to get everything on tape – when it happens.
The long hours sitting in a car lead to an awkward question he is asked often – what happens if he needs a bathroom break.
“You don’t want to know,” he said.
“That’s actually the first thing I teach students (at the private investigation course).”
Mr Evans said someone could have the best camera work but if they did not have the ability to sit and wait, there was no point.
Having lots of patience has meant he has made a name for himself in the small industry, which he stumbled into.
After leaving school, he was not sure what he wanted to do so decided to follow in his father’s footsteps as a private investigator.
“I needed a job and that seemed to make sense,” Mr Evans said.
He did not really love the job when he first started
“I turned up with a notepad and recorder hoping I could get something,” he said.
But his passion for private detective work grew and he has watched it change with the evolution of new technology.
“I’m a tech guy,” he said. Mr Evans’ kit now includes a camera, recording devices, drones and covert devices such as pinhole cameras.
But one of the most dangerous weapons in his arsenal is social media.
“People can either be really smart or really dumb,” he said.
Often his job became as simple as looking at the location someone posted from.
Others went to greater lengths to hide their movements, creating fake profiles and dummy posts.
But the internet could be handy at solving crime, Mr Evans said.
“You might jump on Google Earth and something that has been stolen is sitting right in their back yard,” he said.
Mr Evans said when that happened, the evidence was handed to police.
The private detective said he had none of the powers of police, but sometimes was hired by people to help solve a crime. Even so, he made sure he did not interfere with a police investigation.
“If I am going to be somewhere on a job, I call police, let them know where I’m going to be, give them my car registration number and my licence number,” he said.
“I don’t have any powers like the police, I can’t do anything illegal.”
Mr Evans said that was the most common misconception about his job.
“I don’t have any super powers,” he said.
“It’s not like the movies.” Mr Evans said he did not see private investigation work ending any time soon, with many people still looking for help to learn something they think it is important to know.
JACOB MILEY
A MAN who snatched a phone from a woman’s hand as she filmed him during a neighbourhood spat has avoided serious penalty in court.
Rodney James Lower, 49, grabbed the mobile phone from the neighbour after an argument broke out at the Paradise Point unit complex they live in on June 30, 2019.
He pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court yesterday to common assault.
Police prosecutor Reece Foort said the woman suffered bruising to her hand and arm.
Lower’s solicitor Campbell MacCallum, of Moloney MacCallum Abdelshahied Lawyers, said an argument arose over a letter he was sent that criticised where he parked.
“He was then confronted by one lady who lives downstairs … he was having a discussion with her about where he could park his vehicle,” he said.
“The tenant from upstairs, who my client has some ongoing issues with, started filming him.
“He unfortunately exercised some poor judgment and snatched that phone out of her hands.’’
Magistrate Kay Philipson sentenced Lower to a ninemonth good behaviour bond. No conviction was recorded.