A Hawkesbury man was lucky enough to get off with a warning after he accidentally left his cannabis and bong at the local police station.
You might say it was a dopey move, but there are many things criminals have done that have ended in far worse ramifications. Here are just a few:
1. ‘I’ve never been caught because I’m smart’
In September 2014,Adalberto Ramiro-diaz bragged to an undercover investigator that he’d never been busted dealing drugs because he was smart about his drug transactions. But clearly, he wasn’t as smart regarding who he told about those transactions.
The investigator had turned up looking to buy from Ramiro-diaz, who willingly divulged the details of his operation. Needless to say, the cops were around again soon after with a search warrant.
2. Facebook fail
Here’s a handy tip for young millenials: it might be called social media, but some things (ie. crime) might be best kept to yourselves. More specifically, don’t share the police’s post about you and your criminal activity, because it might come back to bite you.
Anthony James Lescowitch probably never heard that advice, so after sharing the Freeland Police Department’s Facebook post about his crimes, he found himself the subject of another post: his arrest.
After sharing the post, officers created a fake Facebook account using images of an attractive woman, which they used to invite Lescowitch out for a drink. He declined, instead agreeing to meet up for a cigarette, but unfortunately it made no difference. The trap was set and the fugitive was caught.
3. YouIdiot
Posting on Facebook is one thing, but uploading a video to YouTube not only confessing to crimes but also showing off your loot? Surely not!
But alas one Nebraska teen girl did, showing off her money and drugs in a (NSFW) YouTube video that was subsequently used against her in court.
4. Certified robber
Most criminals are content to just leave fingerprints, but not Zachary Tentoni. Why make the police go through all that CSI stuff to pull your prints when you can just leave your birth certificate behind?
In the process of robbing a woman for her handbag, Zachary dropped two bags of his own. Inside them were clothes, hygiene products, sneakers, the aforementioned identification, and a note from his mum. Nawwwww.
He must have realised his error, because when police later quizzed him on his name and date of birth he provided false details. However, police eventually confirmed his identity was a match for the birth certificate.
5. ‘Officer, I’d like to report a stolen phone’
After being interrupted while breaking into a Hollywood home, Wayne Wade absent-mindedly left his mobile phone on his victim’s bed. Once he realised, he called the phone back, which was answered by the officer investigating the crime. Wade told the officer his name and address, because that’s how you report a stolen phone.
The judge sums it up pretty well: "So, the allegation is you burglarized the home, you left your cellphone, you realized you left your cellphone and then called back, and the police answered the phone and you told them what your name was over the cellphone," Hurley said. "I'm just trying to absorb that."
Bonus: Free beer for fugitives
Police in the UK tricked 19 criminals to come forth by offering them free beer.
Undercover officers sent letters to dozens of fugitives informing them that they’d won a free case of beer from a marketing company, and asking them to call to arrange a pick-up time and date.
But it was all a hoax that was used to coax out particularly slippery criminals, which police said had managed to evade arrest for some time. "We use a variety of methods to arrest those suspected of committing criminal offences and we will continue to use new tactics when necessary," Chief Inspector Graham McLaughlin said.