Selfie by alleged smartphone thief leads to arrest
A selfie taken with a stolen smart phone turned out to be — not so smart.
RCMP in B.C. say the image captured by the stolen device helped them catch the alleged cell snatcher.
The iPhone disappeared earlier this month in Nanaimo, after a woman briefly left her purse beside her car while taking out the garbage.
She discovered her purse and iPhone missing, and spotted a man nearby.
Alleged thief's selfie uploaded to replacement phone
When the woman later activated her replacement phone, a photo of that man uploaded automatically.
She said she recognized the stranger as the man she had last seen near her purse.
"The suspect in his infinite wisdom uploaded a picture of himself," said Nanaimo RCMP Cst. Gary O'Brien.
RCMP distributed the photo through news outlets and social media.
That suspect's selfie got a lot of shares.
RCMP said they made an arrest within 48 hours.
A 39-year-old man has been charged with theft under $5000.
The man's name has not been released.
He is scheduled to appear in Nanaimo Provincial court in August.
