No longer are young adults the sole group posting inappropriate comments, photos and videos online that land them in trouble.
Gangs use Twitter, Facebook and MySpace to make threats, boast about crimes and share intelligence on rivals that helps law enforcement identify members and build cases against them, according to an Associated Press article published Tuesday.
“When a gang member was released from jail soon after his arrest for selling methamphetamine, friends and associates assumed he had cut a deal with authorities and become a police informant,” the Associated Press reported.
“They sent a warning on Twitter that went like this: We have a snitch in our midst.
“Unbeknownst to them, that tweet and the traffic it generated were being closely followed by investigators, who had been tracking the Bay Area gang for months. Officials sat back and watched as others joined the conversation and left behind incriminating information.”
The tweets alerted investigators to three gang members who were arrested on drug charges.
“You find out about people you never would have known about before,” said Dean Johnston with the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, which helps police investigate gangs. “You build this little tree of people.
“We are seeing a lot more of it,” Johnston said. “They will even go out and brag about doing shootings.”
I”m not a criminal. When I”m wronged, I”m first shocked, then I yell or cry. But I don”t respond with violence. I don”t lie, cheat or steal to get the things I want. Plainly, I don”t understand the criminal mind.
My experience with the criminal mind comes from movies, books and sitting in courtrooms for hours, talking with attorneys and law enforcement officers.
In books and movies, the bad guy wants to get away with the crime. The bad guy doesn”t proclaim his or her guilt in a public forum.
In court, almost everyone first pleads not guilty to felonies.
I would imagine people who commit crimes want to get away with them, because jail is not fun.
Documenting crimes online where anyone can gain access including investigators and prosecutors is asinine.
Gang members may want to instill fear in rivals and the community, but word-of-mouth hearsay isn”t admissible in court. Facebook posts are.
A few of the court cases I”ve covered include cell phone records, including texts as evidence.
But posting photos of dead rival gang members, videos of people holding guns and making gang signs and requests to find undercover police officers seems damning. If a prosecutor can prove certain felonies, such as intimidating a witness and shooting into an occupied house, were committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang, the convict can serve life in prison.
Capt. Walt Myer, director of the Riverside County regional gang task force, told the Associated Press gang activity often “mirrors general society. When any kind of new technology comes along, they are going to use it.”
Twitter and Facebook cooperate with police to supply information on account holders when presented with a search warrant.
I don”t advocate that gangs should wise up. I encourage law enforcement to use every legal tool necessary to put violent criminals in jail.
Katy Sweeny is a staff reporter for the Record-Bee. She can be reached at kdsweeny@gmail.com or 263-5636, ext. 37.
