A US man in Madison, Tennessee got home after a vacation last week and found his apartment had been ransacked.
According to Fox 17 News, whoever broke in had ripped off his PlayStation 4, two television sets, and a laptop, among other things.
But fortunately for the gamer, his PS4 didn’t go far.
In fact, the thief didn’t bother to disconnect it from its rightful owner’s Wi-Fi.
Because he had paired the PS4 with his mobile phone, within a few days the gamer got an alert on his phone about the box having been turned on.
It showed up as still being connected to the man’s own Wi-Fi. He knew it had to be nearby in order to access his Wi-Fi signal.
So the victim called police and told them that he had a hunch that his neighbor across the hall might the one behind the burglary.
Police searched the apartment across the hall, which belongs to a man by the name of Phillip D. Booker.
There, they found the missing PS4, along with the victim’s laptop.
Booker admitted to “shouldering open” his neighbor’s apartment door and pawning the man’s two televisions and tablet.
He’s now facing charges of aggravated burglary and possession of a controlled substance.
If convicted, Booker will also have earned himself a spot in the hall of “d’oh!” technology criminal not-so-greats, right alongside the felon who proudly showed off his .45-caliber semiautomatic by pointing its laser sight at his own noggin in a Facebook-shared self portrait that netted him more than 15 years more jail time.
Yes, he’ll go down in history as being on par with all those crooks who taunt cops to catch me if you can, like UK fugitive and convicted drug dealer Steven Johnson, who used alias Facebook profiles to share pictures of his life on the run – all the way to sunny southern Spain!
It’s not that all these crooks, or their crimes, are the same. It’s that their technology smarts are a bit lacking.
All the better for the gamer, reunited with his PS4.
Game on, our sync’ed up friend, game on!
Tom
I needed a chuckle this morning, thanks Lisa. Again, I reiterate, most crims are clueless about technology. Of course, the ones who are, are a lot more technologically dangerous. But where would we (cyber security workers) be without cybercrime?
Simon
Excellent stupidity. Could someone with more knowledge of American law clarify why this is aggravated burglary? What’s aggravated about it?
Wilderness
It seems that they use it when it’s worse than just a simple burglary, like it’s burglary+. The plus might be burglary while in possession of a weapon or committing violence at the same time. In the story above, neither seem to be present, so I can’t say why they went for aggravated burglary instead of just burglary.
Laurence Marks
In English law (upon which 49 of the 50 US state laws are based), “aggravated burglary” refers to a burglary that is more serious than a simple “burglary.” It carries increased penalties. Nine of the US states, including Tennessee, specifically include aggravated burglary in their penal codes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burglary_in_English_law
David Cross
“In Tennessee, burglary is defined as unlawfully entering or remaining in a structure with the intent to commit a felony, theft, or assault therein. Home invasion is a specific kind of burglary that occurs within a dwelling, and is discussed more below under “Aggravated burglary” and “Especially aggravated burglary”).”
TonyG
It occurred to me that Google’s development of the facility to be able to identify a location from a photo by comparing it to a library is going to soon provide another way for the dumb crooks to be caught.
Time we started the XXX awards – like the Darwin Awards, but for stupid criminals that have removed themselves from the streets through their ineptitude. XXX should be the name of a famous dumb criminal.
Jennifer
It’s “aggravated burglary” because he broke into someone’s apartment with the intent to commit a theft
“Aggravated burglary (also called “home invasion”) is a Class C felony, and occurs when a defendant unlawfully enters or remains in a habitation (any structure designed or adapted for overnight dwelling) with the intent to commit a felony, theft, or assault therein. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-403.)”
True George
some people need to do things legitimate cause they are poor criminals like this dumb bugger…..