In an attempt to broaden their scope, a Butler County?Ohio Sheriff’s Department sent out a Facebook post on Monday detailing the crimes of a young man named Andrew Marcum. Much to their surprise, the wanted felon decided to taunt back under their “Warrant of the Week” posting on Facebook. A short conversation ensued, during which the Sheriff asked Marcum to turn himself in.
“Andrew Marcum- If you could stop by the Sheriff’s Office, that’d be great.”
Later the Sheriff’s Office, responding to another poster, who had gently teased them about inviting the suspect to turn himself in,?added,
“Hey, it doesn’t hurt to ask.”
?Sheriff Richard Jones, in an interview with WLWT5 News, said,
“I know him. I mean, we don’t go out to drink coffee or nothing, but I know the guy, and he’s going to get to know me a little better. I’ve got lots of people that we’re looking for, but not as much as we’re looking for this guy, and I take it as a challenge. He’ll have to look over his shoulder a lot.”
“I think he likes the attention, and he’s getting it, but he won’t like it in the end. He’ll get attention here, too, when he comes here.”
Sheriff Jones stated that his office had a really good idea where Marcum was hiding out. The social media exchange continued into the following day, with the sheriff adding Twitter to the mix.
Using?the department Twitter account to post a photo of a jail cell and the sheriff told?Marcum,
“Hey Andrew, we’ve got your room ready …”
According to the Butler County Facebook page, the suspect actually did turn himself in on Tuesday night. The sheriff then posted an old mugshot with the word “CAPTURED” emblazoned along the bottom.
When asked about the tactic of using social media to capture suspects, the sheriff responded that they needed to employ all methods available, and that included social media. One thing is certain – using Facebook and Twitter to assist criminals in making the decision to turn themselves in is a lot better than shooting them down in the streets.
