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Man posts Instagram selfies with stolen goods, subsequently arrested

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Detailed recently on the Sun Sentinel, 19-year-old Depree Johnson is facing 142 counts of being a felon in possession of a weapon or ammo after posting a barrage of pictures on Instagram of himself with weapons, cash, drugs and other allegedly illegally obtained items. After a sheriff’s deputy in Palm Beach County spotted the pictures, he realized that Dupree Johnson, the man taking the ill-advised selfies, had five felonies already for crimes such as burglary, felony possession of a firearm and grand theft. 

Based on the subject matter of the pictures, it was no problem for the sheriff’s deputy to quickly obtain a search warrant for Johnson’s home. The deputies that were dispatched to the home found weapons such as a loaded TEC-9 9mm pistol and a Glock hidden under the bed.

Instagram picture of Depree Johnson
Image used with permission by copyright holder

There was also a shoe box filled with ammo in the same room. After securing the weapons, the TEC-9 9mm pistol was found to be stolen from a gun shop located in Tennessee.

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In addition to that stolen weapon, police also uncovered a large collection of stolen electronics, firearms and jewelry in the home. Police estimate that the entire value of the stolen goods totals is around $250,000 and the majority of the goods were allegedly obtained during 30 to 40 burglaries that occurred at 55-and-older retirement centers in Boynton Beach, Florida.

After the arrest, police asked Johnson for his occupation in order to completely fill out the arrest report. Johnson simply responded “Thief” according to ABC affiliate WPBF. At this time, Johnson is being held in jail in lieu of $60,000 bail. Johnson, or a friend of Johnson’s, has apparently deleted his Instagram account, thus it’s unlikely that Johnson will be posting any more selfies in the near future.

Of course, this isn’t the first time social media has been involved in triggering an arrest. Earlier this year, a woman in Richmond, Kentucky thought it would be smart to post taunts on the local police department’s Facebook page in regards to a crime that she committed. Ultimately, that resulted in her arrest within the next few hours.

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