You think this guy knows he's using a stolen laptop?
Smile, you're on laptop camera!
Late Friday night, some guy in an apartment in the area of Nazing Street in Roxbury turned on his new Macbook Air - and it promptly took this photo and e-mailed it to the Jamaica Plain man from whom it was stolen on Wednesday.
A Boston Police report shows the man was jumped from behind and knocked to the ground around 6:30 p.m. on St. John Street.
Eric Herot, a friend of the victim who posted the photo to Twitter, reports the two muggers held him there long enough to grab his phone - on which he was talking when attacked - and his computer bag.
Herot says his friend had installed software called Prey on the laptop, which is designed for just such events. Once activated, the software periodically and quickly turns on a laptop's camera, takes a picture and then mails it to the owner, along with an approximate geographic location and information about its connection to the Internet (the laptop's connecting via a wireless network called LADYFEENIX-PC_Network_1).
So if you're in the Nazing Street area and know a guy with the text of John 3:16 tattooed on his chest, you might want to suggest he drop that laptop off at, oh, District B-2. Herot says his friend doesn't think this guy was one of his attackers.
Comments
He probably didn't care until
He probably didn't care until now. That is amazing! keep us posted
Is that an oration
To Our Lady of Stolen Merchandise on his chest?
What does John 3:16 say?
That piety is the first refuge of a criminal? I know not completely fair, since they don't believe this to be the attacker, but he did, apparently, receive stolen property.
careful...
Adam, you should be careful about posting photos of alleged criminals. 99% chance this guy is at least at sleazebag, and probably also a criminal. But, he hasn't been convicted of anything yet, and if he gets acquitted (on, say, a technicality), plastering his photo all over the place with the strong insinuation that he knowingly bought or received stolen property could be libel. I only say this cause I love U-Hub and don't want you to get sued out of existence.
Actually it looks like the
Actually it looks like the article is carefully phrased to avoid making the claim that the guy knowingly is in possession of stolen property.
Good points, I did count to ten ...
And you're right, the guy could have no idea at all the computer is stolen (hence the headline), maybe he's just grateful a friend gave him a really cool gift - a computer already pre-loaded with all sorts of interesting applications and personal information (and one hidden app that is taking his photo and sending it to the computer's actual owner). If that's the case, I will be more than happy to write that up as well. But it would be interesting to hear how he wound up with a laptop that is issuing plaintive calls for help to somebody in another neighborhood.
Fair enough! I did make a
Fair enough! I did make a note of your careful wording, and as a long-time reader, I know you're responsible and aware of such things. I should say that I'm not a lawyer. I just worry about how far someone could get with "unavoidable conclusion"/"damaging association"-type arguments in court. Obviously the burden would be on him, not you. I guess the picture (as opposed to just text) makes it seem more tenuous to me, but I don't know if that actually changes the legality of it.
He's using a hot laptop
Like Adam noted, it would be very difficult to not know due to the presence of stuff not yours?
He can always drop by with an explanation - and the stolen computer - and get a headline out that.
Thief could have stripped laptop
Of incriminating data and presented it as merely use. Slight chance the guy bought it not knowing it was hot.
Dude shouldn't be hard to
Dude shouldn't be hard to find in the Nazing st area.
What is that supposed to mean
?
I think that's my missing
I think that's my missing flat screen in the background!
My apartment got robbed
My apartment got robbed before Christmas and my laptop was stolen. Was able to track it down using the same Prey software and working with the police was able to get it back. Best of luck to the original poster!
This man did not rob the poor
This man did not rob the poor guy. The guy's friend said so right in this article. This man repairs computers for his profession. Someone, perhaps the robber, perhaps someone else, tried to sell this to him. Once he opened this computer and asked a couple of questions, he believed it to be stolen and turned the would-be-seller down flat. The police have all of this information. Now this man is being hounded by the papparazzi. Wow, the software is cool, but all of these assumptions are the problem!
Don't accuse people of something they did not do
Its a shame he would go ahead and post this on the internet and blast this poor man on the news he did not steal that mans laptop, although I do feel for the man who had his stuff stolen it that does not give you or your friends the right to accuse him of something he DID NOT DO. Please check your facts before reacting so quick because your messing with peoples lives here, I hope he sues you for defamation.
Well, Bianca, as it turns
Well, Bianca, as it turns out, if you had read the article, no claims were made about this guy's guilt. The only fact here was that he was at one point in (possibly even temporary) possession of the laptop -- after all, It is his face behind the camera. It's very regretful that Channel 7 decided to call him a thief in the news after the Superbowl, which is certainly *not* the case -- that is not only sloppy journalism but possibly opens *them* up to liability.
HOWEVER! If some sketchy dude brings you a MacBook and asks you to delete files and wipe the computer, DON'T EVEN OPEN IT.