Bungling Phone Thief Nabbed After He Took Selfies And Pic Of His Name That Got Sent To Inbox Of Man He Robbed At Knifepoint

An armed robber has been nabbed after he took selfies and even a pic of his name on a stolen mobile phone that got sent straight to the email inbox of the victim he had robbed at knifepoint.

The Municipal Guard in the city of Betim in the south-eastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais arrested the unnamed suspect on Thursday afternoon (27th January).

Municipal Guard spokesman Anderson Reis said: “He got the passcode, and instead of resetting the phone, as these crooks usually do, he simply bought a new SIM card and put it in the phone. With that, the victim was able to know his location.”

The photos and videos the suspect made with the device were sent straight to the stolen cell phone owner’s email, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. (Newsflash)

The victim, who preferred to remain anonymous, said he had not accessed his email inbox or logged into any apps since the theft on 1st January until last week, when he logged in and found a gallery of photos taken by the alleged thief with his phone.

He said: “All the photos he was taking were appearing on my new mobile phone. I was impressed, I said ‘wow, who’s this guy here?’ He was wearing my chain in the photos.”

The male victim filed a police report and the suspect was easily caught by the Municipal Guard after one of the photos showed an appointment for the issuing of an ID card, with the suspect’s name.

The photos and videos the suspect made with the device were sent straight to the stolen cell phone owner’s email, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. (Newsflash)

Reis said: “We showed him the photos he had taken on the phone and he ended up confessing to being the perpetrator of the crime.”

The Municipal Guard also seized the victim’s stolen chain, wallet and money from the suspect, as well as the knife used to commit the robbery.

The Municipal Guard revealed the suspect had a criminal record of 10 crimes including robbery, bodily harm and domestic violence.

The selfie of the suspect made with the stolen device were sent straight to the cell phone owner’s email, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Note: Private photo. (Newsflash) (Newsflash)

The suspect was released on a technicality due to the time elapsed between the date of the crime and his arrest. However, the case is still under investigation.