Monday’s MySpace Maniacs #21 (Blackjack edition)
I have three very excellent stories here to further illustrate the fact that MySpace is a breeding ground for stupidity. Just like there are people who “don’t think” in the real world, they are there on MySpace too…
- If you plan on busting into a house and shooting up the place, don’t introduce yourself first if you have a public profile on MySpace. In New Hampshire, police used MySpace to track down a man who ran from a fatal shooting.
- Tip: don’t use MySpace as a means to search for a hitman for your co-worker. A restaurant worker in Tennessee tried to put a contract out for his teenage co-worker… on MySpace.
- A man and woman team used MySpace as a platform for a fake date/robbery. They were sloppy and got caught, because the victim was NOT an idiot.
Obviously, the repeated take-home for all of these style posts is thus: know that MySpace is a collective of all walks of life. If your child is socializing on the network, just know who they are talking to…. Pay attention, be involved, be aware.
See: PC Pandora
December 8, 2009
Police say MySpace used to identify suspect
By Associated PressBERLIN, N.H. — Police in New Hampshire say the popular networking Web site MySpace helped track down a man who ran from a fatal shooting in Berlin.
WMUR-TV says 20-year-old Dennis Ford introduced himself by his first name to the residents of the Third Avenue home before he and two other men burst in Nov. 23.
After the incident, a woman in the apartment searched MySpace.com for men near Berlin. She identified Ford from photos on the site.
Ford appeared at a hearing Monday in Berlin District Court. He is being held for lack of $100,000 bail.
Authorities say Ford was one of three men who entered the Berlin apartment seeking to rob the occupants. Multiple gunshots were fired, killing one of the intruders, 23-year-old Nathan Stringfield.
December 12, 2009
Police Foil MySpace Murder PlotCOOKEVILLE, Tenn.- Police believe a local restaurant worker was behind a scheme via MySpace to kill his teenage co-worker.
Investigators believe Elijah Sakpeidah placed a MySpace ad on the internet, looking for someone to kill his colleague.
The headline of the ad read “with a request to kill for the amount of $2,000 or more, based on the way she is killed.”
His intended target is alright but the key suspect was behind Saturday.
December 11, 2009
2 Charged In Fake MySpace Date; Victim Speaks About OrdealST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. — A man and a woman who police said set up a fake date with a MySpace user and robbed his home while he was out on a date with the woman have been arraigned on conspiracy to commit home invasion charges.
Police said April Evelyn, 24, of Oak Park met 24-year-old Jason Barker from St. Clair Shores on MySpace and set up a date with him.
Local 4 talked to Barker, who said he is still embarrassed about the whole ordeal.
Watch: MySpace Date Victim: ‘I Am Embarrassed
“I’m single. I was just looking to go out and meet new people like most people do on MySpace,” said Barker.
Barker said he wanted to pick up Evelyn at her home and then go out to dinner but, instead, “She, like, insisted that she wanted to meet at my house,” said Barker.
Evelyn was dropped off by Vernon Henderson, 26, of Mount Clemens for the date. She told Barker that her friend needed to use her car to visit his sick mother.
Before leaving the home on Lon Downing Street, Evelyn went into the bathroom and unlocked the window, police said.
“I thought it was strange. She was in there a while. The first time I meet her, she’s in the bathroom. It’s not the first thing people usually do when they come over,” said Barker.
Police said she text-messaged Henderson when she left for her date with the homeowner to let him know that they had left the home and that he could enter through the bathroom.
Henderson entered the home and stole about $11,000 worth of valuables from the home, police said.
Henderson messaged Evelyn that he had finished raiding the home and that she could return with the homeowner and end the date, police said.
When Barker returned home and saw his home had been rummaged, he said he knew what had happened.
“I knew right away I’d been scammed,” said Barker.
