Social media has been a boon to law enforcement, as an Ohio couple recently found out the hard way. John Morgan and Ashley Duboe are sitting in jail on $250,000 bail after the daft duo posted various photos on FaceBook of themselves playing with wads of cash allegedly stolen in a recent bank robbery. To Morgan’s credit, he did use make-up to conceal the words “Loyalty’s Thin” and “Betrayal’s Thick,” tattooed on his cheeks, but the FaceBook gaffe proved fatal.
Morgan had previously served a five year sentence for a 2010 bank robbery and had only been on parole since July, 2015, before being nabbed in yet another bank robbery. If Ohio is like most states, then Morgan will have to serve “back time” for his parole violation, in addition to whatever sentence he receives for the new robbery, should he ultimately be convicted. The fact that he was only recently paroled before committing the exact same crime which landed him in prison five years ago would be considered an aggravating factor, which will likely result in a much harsher sentence than that of a first time offender.
There used to be a show in the 1990s called “America’s Dumbest Criminals.” If the show were still on today, it would have as many stories about people posting incriminating posts and pics of themselves on social media as “The Maury Povich Show” has episodes about paternity tests and out-of-control teens. If you are going to commit a crime, it is best not to boast about it on social media!
Matt McClenahen is a criminal defense attorney in State College, Pennsylvania, home of Penn State University. http://www.mattmlaw.com/About-Attorney-McClenahen/