17 times social media helped police track down thieves, murderers, and gang criminals
Nick Hedges was scrolling through his Facebook feed when he recognized his friend. Police had posted his picture taken while robbing a gas station. Delray Beach, FL Police tracked his friend down and made an arrest.
“Definitely felt obligated to do it and somebody doing that, they shouldn’t be running the streets.” — Nick Hedges to WPTV
Spokane, WA police arrested Michelle McGlynn Bell in connection with five home burglaries. It happened because neighbors saw suspicious behavior and posted pictures of the suspect’s car on-line.
“When that picture came out it didn’t show her face, but it did show part of her car and that gave us that in that we were looking for, we had a beginning point,” said Spokane Police Captain Dave Richards to KREM-TV.
It’s common now for police departments to ask for help from the public on-line
It’s a way of broadening their eyes and ears in the community. But police say sometimes people forget the obvious step — which is to call the police when something’s going on. Sgt. Mark Buschena, of the Bismarck, ND Police Department says they’re seeing people post crimes on social media first, and sometimes ignoring the police.
“That means, pick up the phone and call us, and not just post on social media.” — Sgt. Mark Buschena, of the Bismarck, ND Police Department to KFVR.
Karyn Locke had a rare Gibson guitar stolen. She did call police, then went on-line asking for help. Her plea was shared thousands of times and someone responded and turned the guitar over to police.
“After we filed a police report, I jumped right on the computer, and it was very easy to think of that as the next step to get our guitar back,” Karyn Locke to WJAX.
You may post about what you ate for lunch today, but some criminals post their exploits
Sometimes, it’s the criminals themselves that can’t resist showing off their latest crimes. Call it bragging, or just call it stupid.
Raderius Glenn Collin
A Florida burglar posted a Facebook video bragging about a $500,000 jewelry heist. Raderius Glenn Collins was arrested in Pinecrest, Florida after he uploaded a 7-minute video to Facebook in May. He may have been happy to see his video get 3,000 views, but probably unhappy one of them was the police.
It shows the men bragging about their illegal earnings, exclaiming: “We got a safe!” and “Can someone say ‘check please’.” — AOL
Brock Turner
Social media played a role in the conviction of a Stanford student of sexual assault on an unconscious woman. Brock Turner allegedly took pictures of the naked woman and posted them on social media. While the post was deleted, police found responses to the posting on Turner’s phone.
It read “WHOS TIT IS THAT [sic]” and arrived through an app called GroupMe. — New Statesman
More on Brock Turner
Marina Lorina & Raymond Gates
Marina Lorina and Raymond Gates were charged with rape, kidnap, sexual battery and pandering sexual matter involving a minor after streaming an incident live on Periscope. The stream was allegedly taken by Lorina, showing what appears to be Gates raping a girl.
Derek Medina
33-year old Derek Medina posted a picture of his wife on Facebook… after she was killed. He was subsequently sentenced to sentenced to life in prison in February for second-degree murder. “Im (sic) going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife love you guys miss you guys takecare (sic) Facebook people you will see me in the news. My wife was punching me and I am not going to stand anymore with the abuse so I did what I did I hope u understand me,” he posted.
Medina supplemented the photo apparently showing his murdered spouse lying in the kitchen with blood covering her face and left arm with the comment: ‘Rip Jennifer Alfonso.’ — Daily Mail
David Kalac
Someone posted images of a naked woman, killed by apparent strangulation, on an internet forum. The woman was Amber Coplin and the post led to the arrest of David Kalac. It was a particular gruesome murder. The body was left to be found by the women’s 13-year old son and a post on social media read: “Turns out it’s way harder to strangle someone to death than it looks on the movies. She fought so damn hard.” — Huff Post
According to court records, police found Coplin’s driver’s license by her head with the word “dead” written on it. “Bad news” was written on her blinds. — Huff Post
Maxwell Marion Morton
Pennsylvania teenager Maxwell Marion Morton was charged with first-degree murder after he posted a picture of a classmate that had been shot in the face and took a selfie, which he shared via SnapChat.
“I’ve never seen it before, but it was a key piece of evidence that led investigators to the defendant.” — District Attorney John Peck to TribLive.com
Police use social media to track down gang members
Melvin Colon
Melvin Colon faces murder and drug-related charges after posting gang signs on Facebook. When police approached some of Colon’s online friends, one of them agreed to give them access to Colon’s private posts — which included references to violent crimes committed in the past.
Even though Colon — and his lawyer — argued the posts were private, a judge said too bad.
“Colon’s legitimate expectation of privacy ended when he disseminated posts to his ‘friends’ because those ‘friends’ were free to use the information however they wanted — including sharing it with the government.” — Court record
71 arrested in gang sweep
Police in Cincinnati arrested 71 people after a 9-month investigation used social media to identify key gang members. Police, with the help of University of Cincinnati’s Institute of Crime Science combined information found on social media with police records and reports to establish a link between suspects.
Ronnie Tienda, Jr.
Ronnie Tienda, Jr. was convicted in a gang murders. At his trial, key evidence came from social media posting to MySpace, including pictures and incriminating words:
“I kill to stay rich!!” — Posting reported in Dallas Morning News
25% of law enforcement agencies use social media daily as part of their efforts
A LexisNexis study shows more than 80% of police departments “actively use social media as an investigation tool.” 1 in 4 say they use it every day.
In the survey of law enforcement agencies, LexisNexis heard compelling anecdotal evidence on how social media aided the process.
“I authored a search warrant on multiple juveniles’ Facebook accounts and located evidence showing them in the location in commission of a hate crime burglary. Facebook photos showed the suspects inside the residence committing the crime. It led to a total of six suspects arrested for multiple felonies along with four outstanding burglaries and six unreported burglaries.”
“Located a very unique three finger ring used in an assault. Used Facebook photo to ID ring with victim and also used it to match marks left during the assault.”
“We contacted a guy [on social media] that had been involved in a homicide two days prior. We set up a date with him and let him pick the location, because we couldn’t find him and wanted to arrest him on federal gun and drug charges and interview him about the murder. He showed up and we arrested him.”
“I was able to identify a drug dealer known only by his street name and physical description by finding him on another dealer’s page. He was showing off his bike and you could see the plate. Got the registration and ID’d him.”
“My biggest use for social media has been to locate and identify criminals. I have started to utilize it to piece together local drug networks.”
Read the full report from LexisNexis.
