Facebook, Not Just for Drunk Pics Anymore. Also for Catching Drunk Perps.

One more in the ongoing series: Who needs police when you have the Internets? (Or, How gimmicky online applications can be seriously useful when it really counts.)

Be stirred by tale of Carla Pillo Mote, who used Facebook, her iPhone, and Google to retrieve her company computer, taxes, and wallet after they were stolen from a bar by a drunken idiot. She pulled credit card data, posted to Facebook to take advantage of her network's research abilities, found the address of the perp, confronted him, and got her stuff back within hours of the original theft. The police told her they'd need to wait until 4:00 pm the next day for a warrant, paperwork, etc.

Sample passage:

Meantime her colleague Jamie, who happened belong to a St. Louis network on Facebook, saw Mote's status and did some digging. Some call it Facebook stalking, but in this case it seemed warranted.

Jamie unearthed a few details about the St. Louis [thief] Bransky, and sent a Facebook photo of the guy to Mote's iPhone. "It's him!" she exclaimed. The guy that sat next to her not an hour before had been identified by Facebook. Awesome. Jamie mentioned that he looks drunk in pretty much every Facebook photo. Mote also learned that Bransky is a financial planner with a major company. Oh boy. He went to Syracuse….

While the detective was en route, Mote Googled Bransky's name et voila, she found an address.

Read the whole wild tale, which involves breaking and entering, plus someone peeing on themselves.

Bonus: The perp Facebook friended his victim the next day.

Comments

[crimethink]

Cool story, but this wouldn't have worked on your average burglar, methinks.

[Mister DNA]

OMG, I am soooo gonna Tweet about this.

[dfd]

After getting her stuff back, Mote called the detective and told him she didn't think the guy was a danger and that her property had been retrieved. The officer thanked her for saving the city some money, and that was that. Bransky would not be contacted by the police.

Oh how nice of her. Her stuff was safe so just let him go rip off someone else eh Caral? What the hell? Up until that point I thought she was pretty smart, but it seems that as long as she didn't lose anything she's fine with letting him steal from the next hapless victim who isn't likely to be as internet savvy (and just plain lucky) as Carla was.

It's nice that she is concerned for his drinking problem, but come on, lots of people have drinking problems and don't jack other peoples computers and wallets. This guy is a thief and should have faced some consequences to protect his future victims. Instead Carla is all to happy to simply see him a a victim of alcoholism or whatever and leave him to screw someone else over.

As a financial planner, the guy's career could have been badly damaged had he been arrested.

Christ on His throne! It should have been damaged! Would she let this lying, thieving, drunk handler her money? She just wants to let this guy fuck around with other someone else's? What happens when the next victim isn't as well-off as I suspect Carla is and the loss she suffers seriously damages her life?

The guy is a sleazy douchebag with no respect for anyone and she has a chance to save others from him but lets him go just because she was lucky and didn't lose anything. How big of her!

[David E. Gallaher]

Funny. I just deleted a friend on facebook because a mutual "friend" was using her to stalk me.

As a birdwatcher, I've noticed birds flock. Duh. But they don't really like each other. Or they are out to "get" each other.
Same on facebook. Seems we can't live with each other... can't live without each other.

[crimethink]

dfd, you make good points. Perhaps this guy's name being out there now will harm his career somehow. We can only hope.

[crimethink]

Bonus: The perp Facebook friended his victim the next day.

But did she accept?

[Paul]

I'm a little confrused. It appears she didn't use facebook at all to get her stuff back. She used old-fashioned social engineering and a brash entering of his apartment while he stood there, drunk, and snagged her bag back. Facebook was a minor piece of the whole story.

[ed]

someone peeing on themselves

Come on. It's either "himself" or "herself."
Unless there's more kink here than has been divulged.

[Matthew]

"Facebook friended" is now a verb ?

Just awkward.

[Elemenope]

"Facebook friended" is now a verb ?

Just awkward.

The kids get around it by dropping the adjective portion. It's just "friended". Adults feel the need to qualify it so as not to bewilder their audience.

[syd]

"Mote sat at the bar, her chihuahua in a carrying case to the left of her stool, her computer bag containing tax info and wallet to the right of it. Her iPhone rested on the bar, also just to her right but within eyesight."

Maybe she was leaving work with all of her things: laptop, iPhone... but a dog, too? And what "eatery" allows people to bring animals inside its premises?

[Hugh Akston]

When cops are called out as being more useless than Facebook, it's time to fold the whole damn system.

[John C. Randolph]

The guy is a sleazy douchebag with no respect for anyone and she has a chance to save others from him but lets him go just because she was lucky and didn't lose anything

I'm with dfd on that. I would also point out that a drunk has to hit bottom before he'll do anything about it, and getting arrested might be just the kick in the ass to do it.

-jcr

[?]

And what "eatery" allows people to bring animals inside its premises?

One full of assholes who need to get robbed.

This story sucks.

[JW]

It all happened on March 13 when Mote and a friend were out for drinks at a local Philly eatery. Mote sat at the bar, her chihuahua in a carrying case to the left of her stool,

I just stopped caring about this twit.

[anarch]

This being H&R, and/or this being 2009, I fully expected her, or the Chihuahua Breeders of America, or Facebook, or someone to get arrested, or at least sued.

Then we could rise as a man and declare that if Facebook is outlawed, only outlaws will face booking.

[T]

When cops are called out as being more useless than Facebook, it's time to fold the whole damn system.

We have a winner. But seriously, ever had anything stolen? You're doing damn good if you ever see an actual cop. It's all handled over the phone, and they will never make an arrest. You're just getting them to fill out the paperwork you need for the insurance. It's a fucking joke.

[R C Dean]

Bransky would not be contacted by the police.

Why not? He's still a thief. Not only that, he's an easy catch and conviction.

Reminds me of Dallas, where theft was pretty much blown off by the cops. As a matter of policy.

They also tried to enact a policy of not responding to home security alarms. Too much trouble, apparently. Not sure if they got away with that one.

[High Every Body]

There was a story in the DC Examiner about something similar in NYC a few years ago.

Some poor people bought a mobile device (Sony or something) from a street vendor for about $50 and the previous owner hounded the crap out of them until it was returned.

The son of the woman who bought it from the vendor was an army MP who got in trouble too.

[speedzter]

Funny. I just deleted a friend on facebook because a mutual "friend" was using her to stalk me. Btw see this funny Facebook Status .