Ice Bucket Challenge video posted on Facebook leads police to wanted man

By Mike Flacy August 25, 2014

mass-ice-bucket-challenge — Image used with permission by copyright holder

When 20-year-old Jesean Morris decided to post an “Ice Bucket Challenge” video on his Facebook page, it’s unlikely that he thought it would lead to his arrest by police officers in Omaha, Nebraska. Likely due to the viral growth of the popular “Ice Bucket Challenge” videos related to ALS Association fundraising, Morris participated in the challenge by uploading a video rather than donating $100 to the charity. After a Facebook user watched the video and recognized the location of the filming spot, a specific tip about Morris’s location was called into local police.

When the tip was called in, Morris was wanted for violating the terms of his parole according to the Smoking Gun. That “discretionary parole” was offered to Morris after being released from custody during March 2014.

Morris was previously incarcerated for his participation in a violent shootout during 2010 that left two men injured. Morris was charged and convicted of second degree assault as well as the use of a firearm to commit a felony. At the time of his original arrest in 2010, Morris was still a teenager at just 16 years of age.

According to members of the Omaha gang unit, they were given a specific address from the tipster and Morris was viewed leaving the house in order to climb into a PT Cruiser around 3 p.m. last Friday.

Shortly after Morris left the residence, the vehicle was stopped to take Morris into custody. According to the details of the arrest, Morris attempted to provide police with a fake name. After the lie about his identity failed to work, Morris allegedly spit in the face of one of the officers and kicked out the partition between the front and back seat of the police cruiser.

In addition to the charge of parole violation, Morris will also face new charges that include resisting arrest, assault of an officer, criminal mischief and suspicion of criminal impersonation. Morris is currently being held in Douglas County jail on a $40,000 bond. Of course, if Morris had simply donated $100 to the ALS Association or even lied about donating rather than dump a bucket of ice water on his head, he may have evaded police custody for a longer period of time.

Topics

Facebook

Contributing Editor

By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…

Social Media

Bluesky barrels toward 1 million new sign-ups in a day

Social media app Bluesky has picked nearly a million new users just a day after exiting its invitation-only beta and opening to everyone.

In a post on its main rival -- X (formerly Twitter) -- Bluesky shared a chart showing a sudden boost in usage on the app, which can now be downloaded for free for iPhone and Android devices.

Computing

How to make a GIF from a YouTube video

woman sitting and using laptop

Sometimes, whether you're chatting with friends or posting on social media, words just aren't enough -- you need a GIF to fully convey your feelings. If there's a moment from a YouTube video that you want to snip into a GIF, the good news is that you don't need complex software to so it. There are now a bunch of ways to make a GIF from a YouTube video right in your browser.

If you want to use desktop software like Photoshop to make a GIF, then you'll need to download the YouTube video first before you can start making a GIF. However, if you don't want to go through that bother then there are several ways you can make a GIF right in your browser, without the need to download anything. That's ideal if you're working with a low-specced laptop or on a phone, as all the processing to make the GIF is done in the cloud rather than on your machine. With these options you can make quick and fun GIFs from YouTube videos in just a few minutes.
Use GIFs.com for great customization
Step 1: Find the YouTube video that you want to turn into a GIF (perhaps a NASA archive?) and copy its URL.

Social Media

I paid Meta to ‘verify’ me — here’s what actually happened

In the fall of 2023 I decided to do a little experiment in the height of the “blue check” hysteria. Twitter had shifted from verifying accounts based (more or less) on merit or importance and instead would let users pay for a blue checkmark. That obviously went (and still goes) badly. Meanwhile, Meta opened its own verification service earlier in the year, called Meta Verified.

Mostly aimed at “creators,” Meta Verified costs $15 a month and helps you “establish your account authenticity and help[s] your community know it’s the real us with a verified badge." It also gives you “proactive account protection” to help fight impersonation by (in part) requiring you to use two-factor authentication. You’ll also get direct account support “from a real person,” and exclusive features like stickers and stars.