Robbery Suspect Saved by Facebook Post

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace aren’t just for communicating. They’re also for catching bad guys and freeing the innocent. Recently, Facebook came to the rescue of 19-year-old Rodney Bradford, who was accused by local authorities of a robbery in Brooklyn. But after evidence was presented showing Bradford was updating his status on Facebook—from his father’s apartment in Harlem—at the time of the crime, the charges were dropped.

 
Facebook also helped law enforcement in Martinsburg, PA, locate the culprit behind a burglary after he forgot to log off the victim’s computer. In Indiana, Ian J. Clark’s postings on MySpace helped the district attorney prove he was capable of murdering his girlfriend’s child.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
 
I’m Innocent. Just Check My Status on Facebook. (by Damiano Beltrami, New York Times)

Comments

silly poeple 14 years ago
see the forest for the trees. Investigators don't like to close cases w/o making sure all loopholes are completely investigated. Don't you think that those individuals who may have had access to the computer would have been able to demonstrate where they were? That there also may have been calls made from either a cel phone or personal phone from that number? not to mention other probabilities that investigators were able to utilize to demonstrate that the individual was at the said place at the said time. This story only demonstrates ONE particular area, and is utilized for helping push facebook.. GEEZ
Ice Cream Melts 14 years ago
It is amazing that Facebook was used to clear this young man, but what if someone else was updating his status from that computer. All you need is a username & password to access an account. Upcoming book (12.01.09) Facebook Addiction: The Life & Times of Social Networking Addicts (http://www.TheFacebookAddiction.com)
Kat Moore 14 years ago
How do you know he left the comment. If he didn't close his facebook account anyone could have typed in the status change without needing his password.

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