Until now, I’ve remained silent about a certain post I placed on Facebook that included photographs of two wanted persons and their names. In both cases, it was a direct result of Facebook that we were able to locate these suspects. If you have not heard both have been arrested out of state. The last one was taken into custody in Ohio around 745am this morning due to a tip via Facebook. I allowed quite a dialog in regard to this post and it even resulted in two subjects being deleted and banned from following our page. It was mainly because of the language they used and not necessarily their message. I personally am against using names and pictures on FB, but both of these suspects, and as some pointed out, are innocent until proven guilty….they are simply suspects. The reasoning behind posting the photographs and names on FB was because one of the suspects was believed to be traveling into town, breaking into numerous vehicles and structures and then returning to Ky. We wanted you to be able to see the pictures so if he was seen walking our streets you would alert us and thereby possibly saving yours or your neighbor’s property. This suspect also knew he was wanted and refused to turn himself in. The second suspect, which most of the comments were focused on, was from our town. The reason his photograph was posted was because he had been interviewed the previous day in reference to the case. He also decided to run and not turn himself in. The amount reported stolen was into the many thousands of dollars. My job is to protect the lives and property of the citizens of Kenova. It also entails the safety of the suspect. By that I mean, the potential of someone hurting a suspect during their repeated commission of crimes or even an overdose from the use of illegal narcotics. As a direct result of our Facebook posting both suspects have now been apprehended and the larcenies, in my opinion that was out of hand, has stopped at least until the next wave of thieves come to town. And one suspect who may have been using illegal narcotics is now safe… If the situation arises again I will use whatever resources, including the same ones, I have to apprehend the suspect as quickly as possible. Now with all that said, I see no reason to leave the post with the suspect’s photographs up any longer, its purpose has been served. So I am going to delete that post, not because of anyone making me do it, asking me or for any other reason except for it’s no longer needed and it’s now the right thing to do in this case. Thank you to all those who gave us tips and to those that helped us gain the location of the suspect, especially the one from this morning. You may even have saved a life by your help. To the family of any suspect we regret any embarrassment you may have felt. You shouldn’t feel that way at all. I have spoken with many people in the community, they support us in our efforts and they greatly support you too. We wish you the best in this trying time. Thank you.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 22:02:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015