Social media can be a powerful tool, so much so that it can help solve crimes. This past week, a Mississippi man had a set of golf clubs stolen off of his front porch, but fortunately for him, his security system captured the whole thing on film. With nothing to lose, he posted it on Facebook, and as it turns out, it went viral and set off a chain reaction leading to the arrest of a couple wanted for theft in three states!
The Sun Herald has the full report:
The petit larceny of a set of golf clubs owned by Kieren Rouse of Biloxi tied together a multi-state investigation after Rouse posted video from his home-security system. The investigation spanned three beachfront cities and Heavener, Oklahoma, where the truck had been reported stolen.
Police in Gulf Shores, Alabama, had posted a video of the stolen truck on their Facebook page. They said the couple had been staying at a campsite there and were wanted on theft charges. As Rouse’s video went viral and friends shared it with friends, Gulf Shores police saw it. They contacted Biloxi police, who alerted neighboring law enforcement agencies. Biloxi police found Rouse’s golf clubs at a pawn shop, police Lt. Christopher De Back said.
Video of golf club theft goes viral, leads to arrest of couple wanted in THREE states(!!!) https://t.co/j4qWeewTrn pic.twitter.com/TXjO8TSOdV
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) May 11, 2017
Waveland police said someone who had watched the video in a news report recognized the couple and saw the truck at the Waveland Wal-Mart. Police Chief David Allen said that’s where his officers arrested Amy Beth Minor of Howe, Oklahoma, and Bryan Shane Bebermeyer of Monroe, Oklahoma. Both are 31. They each face a charge of receiving stolen property in Waveland. They were taken to the Hancock County jail and were being held with no bond.
Rouse said when he first realized his golf clubs had been stolen, he checked his home-security system and saw the theft play out. A barefoot woman wearing a T-shirt with LOVE on the front grabbed the clubs, ran to a white pickup truck and told the driver, “Let’s go!”
“Need some help making somebody Facebook famous,” Rouse had written in his Facebook post.
Mission accomplished.
[h.t Golf Digest; The Sun Herald]
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