A man suspected of committing as many as 2 dozen car and house break-ins was arrested for burglary in a Boston suburb on Tuesday after being identified from a home surveillance camera and implicating himself via Facebook.
25-year-old Joseph N. Ecker of Wellesley, Mass., was arrested by local police Tuesday on burglary and breaking/entering charges after a resident received email from his Dropcam surveillance camera system notifying him that the system had picked up activity in his kitchen overnight. It's believed that the suspect, who police recognized in the footage, had swiped the resident's key from an unlocked car and then entered the house to steal items, including a bluetooth speaker, while the family slept.
A detective investigating the break-in took a look at the suspected burglar's Facebook page and found him wearing the same maroon-and-gray pullover shirt seen in the video, according to Wellesley police, who shared this video (also shown below).
In addition, the suspect wasn't shy about his "finds" -- including a Prada handbag -- on social media.
Fox 25 Boston reported: "According to court records, police also noted Ecker had posted about the break-in at [another] home, saying 'Who wants a new purse, super expensive. Hit me on the low low.'"
Ecker is by no means alone among crime suspects in foiling himself via social media (For example, see "9 suspected criminals who got themselves caught via social media").