People often use social media sites to share some of their more or less important daily activities. But since almost anyone can see your online posts, sometimes it's better to keep things to yourself. Especially if you're planning an armed robbery.
32-year-old Andrew Hennells decided to brag online about his plans to rob a store, without considering that the police could track down his post and link him to the crime.
In fact, it only took the authorities 15 minutes to track down the perpetrator, after he boasted about his exploits on Facebook . The man posted the following message: “Doing. Tesco. Over.”, before posting a photo of the knife he used in the robbery.
Additionally, the store's security camera recorded the 32-year-old during the robbery, and because he was not wearing a mask to hide his face, police had no difficulty identifying him from his Facebook photos.
However, if he had not revealed his intentions, he might have managed to escape with the $410 (€566) he managed to extract from a frightened Tesco employee.
Now the man will spend the next four years in prison, as his Facebook “confession” combined with other incriminating evidence contributed to the conviction. According to media reports, the 32-year-old had been convicted in 2012 for another robbery in Germany, and had served an 18-month prison sentence.
