Probation officer gives office BJ to boot-camp teen
Fugitive Watch: Laramie Torres, Child Rapist, Caught Through Facebook
Monday, February 22, 2010 at 9:00 am
 |
 |
Within months of his escape, Lynch was dubbed the "Facebook Fugitive." He had more than 40,000 friends and fans, who cheered him on as he posted brazen photos of himself giving cops the finger as well as brief updates on everything from his decadent dining experiences to his sexual conquests.
Of course, Lynch's fame soon faded when authorities caught up with him in January and he was thrown back in prison. But while that might have been the end of Lynch, it wasn't the final chapter for Facebook's new role in the world of fighting crime.
Around the same time that Lynch was making headlines and considering offers for realty TV
 |
| Maxi Sopo: Even dumber than he looks. |
shows, a U.S. fugitive also decided he couldn't resist the lure of online social networking. Police had no idea where Maxi Sopo had disappeared to after he skipped out on a federal prison sentence for fraud. Then, months later, his profile turned up on -- you guessed it -- Facebook. Turns out, Sopo was living it up in Cancun. Thanks to his inability to lay low, however, his vacation soon came to an end when he was arrested by US marshals, placed in a Mexican jail, and then extradited back to Washington.
It would seem that Lynch and Sopo were simply anomalies in the world of wanted criminals. While Lynch appears to be unusually cocky, Sopo was just plain stupid. Any fugitive with half a brain -- or a normal amount of bravado -- would know better than to advertise their whereabouts online. However, this last week goes to prove that our expectations of criminals, big and small, may have been a bit too high.
 |
| Chris Crego: Just as dumb as he looks |
On February 16, we brought you the tale of Chris Crego, a man with obviously poor decision making skills, whom we also crowned the "Moron of the Day." Crego made his first mistake after he pled guilty to an assault charge stemming from a bar fight and then skipped out on his sentencing, which might have been nothing more than probation and community service had he actually shown up. However, Crego will never know how lenient his actual sentence could have been since he now faces serious prison time for evading the law.
But Crego managed an even greater sin when he decided not only to post his new whereabouts on Facebook, but also his place of employment as well as his work hours. And just in case anyone of his new friends in Indiana weren't clear, he posted a wanted poster of himself, too.
Of course, US Marshals had no trouble tracking him down. After he was arrested and charged with escape, they even posted a thank you note on his Facebook page.
It appears that cops are getting wise to the popularity of Facebook amongst America's Most
 |
| Thanks to Facebook, Laramie Torres is back behind bars |
Wanted. In our last and final story of the week, police didn't have to wait for Laramie Torres to create his own Facebook page. They went ahead and made one for him.
In November, Torres was arrested and indicted on multiple charges of rape and sodomy in Medford, Oregon. Apparently, he'd been sexually abusing a young girl for over four years, since she the time she was 11-years-old.
But soon after Torres was arrested, he managed to escape and flee the area. As soon as he disappeared, friends and family of the victim decided to make him a Facebook page, asking for tips as to his whereabouts. A man from Michigan eventually wrote them and said he had seen Torres living in Erie, Pennsylvania.
On February 12, police managed to track Torres down thanks to the Facebook tip. He is now sitting in a Pennsylvania jail, awaiting extradition back to Oregon.
Want to read more about scumbags living on the lam? See last week's Fugitive Watch: Child Rapist Douglas Dishon Caught After Murdering His Wife in Mexico.
More links from around the web!
