Seems like we haven’t had one of these in a while.
Police say 26-year-old Nicholas Wig checked his profile from a home he broke into, and then he didn’t log off. It happened June 19 in South St. Paul.
“World’s dumbest criminal,” the homeowner James Wood said. “I don’t know.”
Wood had come home to find his house ransacked. His credit cards, cash and watch were all gone.
In their place, the thief had left a pair of Nike tennis shoes, jeans and a belt, that were all wet. Wood said it had been raining outside.
“I started to panic,” he said. “But then I noticed he had pulled up his Facebook profile.”
Wood posted to Facebook using Wig’s profile, saying Wig had burglarized his home. He even shared his phone number to see if someone would call with information. Wig texted him later that day.
“I replied you left a few things at my house last night, how can I get them back to you,” Wood said.
Wig agreed to meet with Wood later that night. Wood believes Wig was under the impression he would give him back some of his clothes he had left at his home in exchange for a recycled cell phone Wig had stolen.
And of course, Wig headed on over to make the exchange. Wood recognized him as he was heading home himself and immediately called police, who arrested Wig at the scene. And just in case there was somehow still any doubt as to whether or not Wig was the right man, he was wearing Mr. Wood’s watch at the time.
Specific charges weren’t specified in either of the reports I’ve seen, but it’s noted that if convicted, Wig could be checking his Facebook from the pokey (that pun was awful and I’m sorry) for a maximum of the next 10 years. He could also be hit with up to $20,000 in fines.