MIAMI BEACH, FL (WSVN/CNN) - An alleged serial thief is behind bars, thanks in large part to a Facebook group.
“He’s out here every day working this boardwalk here, going all the way down sometimes to Fifth Street,” said John Deutzman, a member of the Anti-Crime Activist Facebook group, which helped bring the criminal down.
Police call the jailed man “the sneaky crook.” His real name is Ken Collins. They say he struck again, stealing a woman’s credit card last month while the victim was sunbathing in the 1700 block of Miami Beach.
What he didn’t know was that he was being watched.
“They’ll basically creep around until they notice there’s an opportunity because it’s so dark out here,” said another member of the group. “They’ll just sneak up on someone. They’ll grab something. People won’t even hear them, or they won’t even notice.”
The crook’s every move was documented for more than a year by the group. So when police release “wanted” flyers on the suspect for using a stolen card, the group was inspired to lead the police right to his hangout spot.
“We have some 1,300 people in our group. We get pictures from all over the place,” Deutzman said.
Police said thanks to the group’s dedication and quick actions, they captured a wanted man and possibly saved others from becoming victims.
“We certainly encourage their work,” said Officer Ernesto Rodriguez of the Miami Beach Police. “They’ve already yielded some results in the court processes because they attend these bond hearings, and they go before a judge, and they express their concerns for their safety and oftentimes we’re seeing judges raise these bonds’ amounts.”
Deutzman said the group is more than glad to help.
“What we’re trying to do is stop the revolving door,” he said. “Most of these guys in the past would go in on these charges and get out in one day in bond court. We’ve stopped that completely. They’re doing some time now.”
Copyright 2017 WSVN via CNN. All rights reserved.
