Stupid Criminals: Posting Vacation & Shopping Pictures Of Yourself On Facebook While A Fugitive

from the stupid-is-as-stupid-does dept

There must be some heavy metals in the water wherever criminals grow up, because they do some really stupid things. Recall the young mastermind who allegedly committed a drunken hit and run and then posted about it on Facebook. Or the bank-robbing vixen who somehow thought making a YouTube video bragging about her crimes was a great idea. It's a strange kind of dichotomy for law enforcement agencies that at once catch these dummies using internet services and websites while also decrying Craigslist as some kind of enabler, rather than a holding pen for future convicts. The point is that criminals, by and large, are stupid, and if you give them just enough bandwidth-cord, they'll inevitably hang themselves with it.

Such is the case with the latest entrant into the "Hey, Come Arrest Me" sweepstakes, a purported gang member who robbed a man of thousands in jewelry on camera in the UK, jumped a flight to South America to return to his native Columbia (no extradition treaty with the UK), following a brief vacation in Brazil, and then returned to the UK to upload pictures of himself Christmas shopping.
Charles Rodriguez, 31, is a Colombian man who police believe is a member of the crime gang the Latin Kings. In October 2011, along with another man, he allegedly beat a jeweler who had been returning from a sales trip.

"Rodriguez's arrogance was astonishing. After committing an appalling attack on a jewellery trader, he fled the country to his native Colombia where he knew he could not be extradited," Detective Sergeant Roger Smethurst said in a statement. "However, his lack of remorse was evident by the fact he brazenly posted sightseeing pictures from Brazil - at a time when he was on the run - on his Facebook page."
Manchester police were following along the entire way, ostensibly "ooh-ing" and "aah-ing" at what I'm sure were the beautiful sights of Brazil. Perhaps they even placed wagers on what Rodriguez would buy his grandchildren. I don't know. What I do know is that they continued following him on his digital sight-seeing picture-show in the hopes that eventually Rodriguez would do something monumentally stupid.

Rodriguez, it would appear, is not the kind of man who disappoints.
In 2012 he reentered the U.K. with a false passport. He even posted photos of himself Christmas shopping and sightseeing around London. Rodriguez was stopped by London police for driving suspiciously. Though he faked his name, fingerprinting revealed his identity.
"Rodriguez must have thought he was above the law and untouchable because even when he finally returned to the UK, knowing he was still wanted, he still posted pictures of himself Christmas shopping in London on his Facebook page," Smethurst said.
He has since pled guilty to robbery and has been ordered to serve more than five years in prison. So raise your glasses of Newcastle Brown to Mr. Rodriguez. If the police have any sense of humor at all, they'll allow him to Facebook check-in to prison.
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Filed Under: criminals, self-incrimination, social media, stupidity


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Feb 2013 @ 4:31pm

    His mistake

    Actually, he meant to go home to Colombia, but instead went to Columbia -- the District of -- where his bold robbery skills earned him fame as a politician. The End.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Anonymous Monkey (profile), 12 Feb 2013 @ 4:31pm

    ..."a member of the crime gang the Latin Kings."


    Should be more like Derp Kings....
    >_

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Zakida Paul (profile), 12 Feb 2013 @ 4:45pm

    Talking of stupidity........

    I used to work in insurance and you would be amazed at the number of people making personal injury claims saying that they are unable to work, but then putting videos online of themselves playing football, wrestling, mountain climbing or whatever they are into. Do people not realise that these things can be viewed by anyone, including those you don't want to see them?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 12 Feb 2013 @ 4:53pm

    So...

    Who will be the brave politician to lead the crusade against Facebook?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Feb 2013 @ 6:12pm

    The point is that criminals, by and large, are stupid, and if you give them just enough bandwidth-cord, they'll inevitably hang themselves with it.

    again, is this yet another reference to Swartz ?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Dark Helmet (profile), 12 Feb 2013 @ 7:08pm

      Re:

      "again, is this yet another reference to Swartz ?"

      Go straight to hell, you disgusting piece of shit. The fact that you could so cynically joke about the tragedy of a young man killing himself shows that you should sincerely follow his lead and do the same....

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 12 Feb 2013 @ 8:15pm

        Re: Re:

        Tim! That's not an appropriate way to honor Aaron. What would he think?
        (Besides, I just ordered some drones. I can lend you one or two.)

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Anonymous Coward, 13 Feb 2013 @ 5:25am

        Re: Re:

        I thought it was in reference to the Craigslist fiasco ... oh well.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        Lol Religion.., 24 Mar 2013 @ 8:27am

        Re: Re:

        Go straight to Narnia, you religious twat!

        link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 13 Feb 2013 @ 3:25am

      Re:

      No, it's a reference to how a solar panel engineer can have such an atrocious grasp of logic and language. Just like you, jackass!

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Ninja (profile), 13 Feb 2013 @ 6:58am

      Re:

      You know, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can be treated. You should go talk to a psychiatrist. My two cents ;)

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile), 12 Feb 2013 @ 6:55pm

    driving suspiciously

    ???

    "Say what you want about that option package and extended warranty, but I still don't trust this car." [squints meaningfully at dashboard]

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Feb 2013 @ 7:16pm

    Man these guys are geniuses and we should expect to see their felonious escapades on Masterminds in the near future.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Pixelation, 12 Feb 2013 @ 9:57pm

    " The point is that criminals, by and large, are stupid,.."

    As far as I know, I've never met someone who hasn't broken the law. We can fix the sentence...

    People, by and large, are stupid.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Feb 2013 @ 10:56pm

    His sin is vanity.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Dionaea (profile), 13 Feb 2013 @ 12:53am

    Wouldn't it be great if all criminals were like this? :)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Ninja (profile), 13 Feb 2013 @ 6:59am

    Ah humans. Those little pitiful beings seem to have an inherent need of bragging about virtually anything to their counterparts. Amusing ;)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Mason Wheeler (profile), 13 Feb 2013 @ 10:25am

    The point is that criminals, by and large, are stupid


    That's because the intelligent ones end up becoming corporate executives, with corporate personhood, purchased laws and high-powered lawyers to shield them from criminal liability.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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