By Dan Marshall

Selfie thief caught by Nanaimo RCMP

Jul 27, 2016 | 8:45 AM

An iPhone was stolen from the 600 block of Kennedy Street back in early July.
 
A woman was in the process of carrying her garbage to the trash bin and left her purse, with her phone in it, beside her vehicle.
 
RCMP Constable Gary O’Brien says in that time the 39 year old suspect scooped the phone and even took a selfie.
 
When the women activated her new phone the next day, the selfie was automatically uploaded and that was a big help for police.
 
“There was a tremendous outpour of public support, there was numerous sources provided that led us to the arrest of him last weekend,” said O’Brien.  “He has been charged with Theft Under $5000 and served with a promise to appear. He has a court date set for August 8th in Nanaimo.”

O’Brien says with all the public support when they circulated the selfie, RCMP were able to make an arrest within 48 hours.
 
“That’s what we find with social media if there’s a picture that people can share quite easily that’s good.  Also it sort of touches a nerve because everyone has a cell phone.  And the audacity of somebody to use their phone to take a picture of themselves when they had actually stolen it, that sort of touched a chord and led to a number of tips being provided by the public from a variety of sources”  
 
According to O’Brien social media is significant for local police, with regular updates on the Nanaimo RCMP twitter and facebook pages.