Dear criminals: if you steal and then fence a console, be aware that the cops will probably be able to track you down when it’s connected to the internet.
Stolen electronics, it seems, are getting easier to recover these days. Case in point: Police in Medford, Oregon, managed to track down a burglar who stole -and then sold- a videogame console when the console was registered for online play.
Back on Christmas Eve, a man in Ashland, OR, returned home to find that his house had been burglarized. Amongst the many items missing was a videogame console. However, police were able to track down the console:
The Southern Oregon High-Tech Crimes Task Force contacted the console’s manufacturer and was able to trace the unit after it was registered for online gameplay.
Central Point police Lt. Josh Moulin, who supervises the task force, said the trace led to a home in Medford. Officers contacted the resident, who told them he bought the console from Nicholas Gomez, 24, of the 200 block of Oregon Terrace.
Gomez was subsequently interviewed and arrested based on charges of first-and-second-degree theft. However, the police weren’t able to find enough evidence to link the man to the burglary.
Exactly what type of console was stolen hasn’t been revealed, so it’s not clear if kudos should be given to Microsoft, Nintendo, or Sony. It’s too bad Gomez wasn’t able to be charged with the theft, but it’s almost a guarantee that the police will be keeping an eye on the guy.
Source: Ashland Daily Tidings
Published: Apr 1, 2011 02:00 am