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Instagram becomes treasure trove of evidence for Fla. cops

 
Anonymous Coward
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01/03/2015 02:12 AM
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Instagram becomes treasure trove of evidence for Fla. cops
Instagram equals Insta-bust for police in Miami-Dade


One Miami felon nicknamed “Crazy Goat” got cuffed on a weapons rap after posting photos of himself loading guns.

Months later, on-line snapshots helped police pin charges against three teens on allegations of drug-fueled group sex with underage girls.

Then there was a petite teen named Karla Sanchez who saw a naked overweight woman in the shower of a North Miami gym. She whipped out her smartphone, snapped a photo and immediately posted it. Her not-so-smart caption: “The things I see at LA Fitness. WTH!”

Within weeks, cops jailed Sanchez, 18, on a misdemeanor voyeurism charge.

Each of these recent South Florida cases stemmed from photos or video posted on Instagram, the fast-growing social media site that has increasingly become a treasure trove of evidence for police and prosecutors.

Several weeks ago, Miami-Dade detectives sent search warrants to Instagram’s corporate office, hoping to snag posts to seal convictions for two defendants awaiting trial, one of them for murder.

“We encourage the criminals to post their photos and videos online,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “After all these years, they’re still kind enough to do it.”

Spilling the beans on social media has become so common that defense attorney David Seltzer, a former Miami-Dade cybercrimes prosecutor, now makes it a point to caution his clients.

“I think technology has made people relaxed and made people let their guard down,” Seltzer said. “First thing I tell clients is, ‘Turn off your social media. Why make the job of the police easier?’”

There have been a number of notable social-media crime cases, topped by Derick Medina of South Miami. In 2013, he shot his wife, then uploaded a photo of her dead body and a confession to his Facebook page. Awaiting trial, Medina claims self-defense.

Last month, in a case testing the limits of free speech, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments about a Pennsylvania man convicted of making threats against his estranged wife and authorities on Facebook. He insists the words were “therapeutic” rap lyrics.

The micro-blog site Twitter has produced several notable local criminal




more @ link [link to www.miamiherald.com]
Anonymous Coward
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Australia
01/03/2015 02:15 AM
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Re: Instagram becomes treasure trove of evidence for Fla. cops
No joke.





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