Facebook Photo of Stolen Ring Puts Couple In Jail 143
An anonymous reader writes "A Facebook photo of a stolen 3 carat diamond ring recently helped police solve a jewelry theft. After rings and other items valued at more than $16,000 were taken from a home on Saturday, a friend of the victim's roommate saw one of the items on the social network. 20-year-old Crystal Yamnitzky captioned the photo with the following message: 'Look what Robby gave me I love him so much,' in reference to her 21-year-old boyfriend Robert Driscoll. Yamnitzky's cousin saw the post and told some friends, who alerted police. Both Yamnitzky and Driscoll have been charged in the case."
Fitting name... (Score:5, Informative)
"Robby", it's more than just his hobby! /I love how they charged the girlfriend (even though she's not just innocent but also oblivious) just so she'll roll on her fiance. //For the record, I'd totally spill my guts, too.
Re:"Receiving stolen property"? Why is this a crim (Score:5, Informative)
Knowingly receiving stolen property is a serious crime. Receiving it in good faith, without knowledge or suspicion it was stolen is not. It's up to the court to determine which is the case. (you still have to give the property back, and if you paid for it while buying it in good faith you may join the suit against the thief to have your money back)
If she had a good reason to suspect the ring was stolen, she's guilty. But if the boyfriend successfully deceived her into believing this was all legit she'll walk away free.
(yes, she can lie her way out of this one even if she's guilty, if she's clever enough. OTOH she doesn't sound very clever.)
Re:Nothing Beats Stupid Criminals (Score:2, Informative)
It's quite possible, and even likely that he wasn't the thief. Say someone traded the rings for drugs or a car stereo? The police don't have an unbroken chain from the victims house to the thieves hands, so unless he confesses they are going to have a pretty hard time convicting him.
If he isn't the thief, he'll certainly have to explain where he got the ring. The police could follow the trail back to find the thief in that case. Otherwise, if he is the thief he'll have a hard time explaining where he got it.