Cops nab criminal who taunted them on Facebook
Yahoo News July 26, 2014, 12:37 pm
When the Baltimore police decided to crack down on suspects with outstanding arrest warrants, one criminal boasted 'Y’all will never catch me,' under his own wanted poster.
The wide-eyed look on career criminal Roger Ray Ireland’s mug shot says it all.
On Wednesday, police in suburban Baltimore featured Ireland on their Facebook page as part of their “#WantedWednesday” effort to locate suspects with outstanding arrest warrants.
Ireland, 28, got wind of the cybersleuthing and posted a comment on the Anne Arundel County Police Department’s Facebook page.
After Ireland's arrest. Photo: Anne Arundel County Police Department
“Y’all will never catch me,” Ireland boasted in a message under his wanted poster.
But they did. A day later he was back in the pokey.
“It didn’t work out in his favor,” Capt. Ed Smith of Anne Arundel County Sheriff’s Department told Yahoo News. “He should have kept his mouth shut.”
The police Facebook post prompted residents to tag Ireland’s family members in the comments section.
Ireland, who had been sought since July 8 for violating probation on a theft conviction, wasn’t pleased.
“Yo all yall people tagging my hole family bout my [business] stay ... out,” he wrote.
His presence in the comment thread surprised some people.
“Wait what?? Isn't that him right above my comment??” wrote a commenter who encouraged Ireland to turn himself in. “What if your own kids see this??!?”
On Thursday, the police department documented the tale and thanked the public.
“Social Media is a great tool for law enforcement and we appreciate our Social Media Sleuths,” Police Chief Kevin Davis wrote on Facebook.
“Community involvement is paramount to law enforcement’s success and the amount of tips that we receive daily on social media shows how much ownership citizens are taking in their own communities.”
