Progress: An Honest Criminal Turns Himself In After Learning He's Wanted Via Vanity Google Search
from the baby-steps dept
You know, we talk a great deal at Techdirt about dumb criminals and how often they are nabbed by the intersection of their own stupidity and technology. It is, frankly, enough to make you wonder about the future of our species, watching these would-be criminal masterminds fumble about social media, YouTube, and the like. I remember the days when criminals had a certain sense of honor. Sure, they did wrong, but they had a certain something to them.
Well, perhaps that breed of criminal isn't dead yet, judging by Christopher Viatafa, the Palo Alto man who did a vanity Google search for his own name, saw that he was a wanted man, and promptly turned himself in.
Google Christopher Viatafa and with no digging at all you'll find he's wanted by San Leandro police. That's exactly what the 27-year-old Palo Alto man discovered this month. The first result of his search led to the Northern California's Most Wanted website, where his picture appeared along with the charges he's facing, authorities said Friday. Accused of doing wrong, authorities said Viatafa then did what was right: He turned himself in to police.In a world filled with criminals who brazenly use technology to act like jackasses, this is apparently what passes for a breath of fresh air. Viatafa appears to be no saint, having allegedly peeled off a couple of caps after an argument at a party (no injuries/deaths reported), but at least he went to face his charges after finding out just how badly the state wanted him.
So fear not for our future, because some bad guys who shoot guns will apparently use the internet to turn themselves in. Or something. Actually, I'm not sure any of this is really making me feel much better.
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Filed Under: google, honest criminal, search, wanted list
Reader Comments
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Taking people's hats off is a crime that gets you on the Most Wanted list now?! Man, EVERYTHING is illegal!
(j/k)
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Strangely none of them seem to be the actual me.
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I had an arrest warrant against me years back while I was unemployed. I never left home. I learned about it while the company I applied for ran a security check. Went to see the judge the next day to get it sorted. They never even looked for me. Ok granted, I was not a huge criminal and it was all rejected by the judge; all charges dropped but still, they never even looked at my home, where I was 23 hours a day every day.
I feel so safe.
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By controlling when he turns himself in, he can reduce any waiting time in jail. Monday morning where there is a afternoon hearing rather than Friday afternoon and sitting inside all weekend.
A judge is more likely to set a lower bail for someone who turns himself in. It also gives him the opportunity to get the money together for a bond to be posted immediately.
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Re: Agreed, controlling the circumstances is a huge win here
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I'm assuming that he landed on the Northern California Most Wanted list because there was some illegally downloaded music at that party.
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Wait...
Wait, is this article going to be about the RIAA or the NSA? No time to read, just throw me the acronym and I'll put the rest together.
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Poor guy...
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Likely reads Techdirt
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