Sometimes people should just avoid the urge to comment on Facebook, at least, not without an attorney present.
A Florida man was arrested by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office after commenting on the department’s “Fugitive of the Day” Facebook post in which he was the featured fugitive, in reference to a robbery. A back and forth series of exchanges between the man and the Fugitive Warrants unit ensued in the comments section, while an amused public chimed in on Facebook.
From First Coast News:
Claiming he was in a hospital during a robbery in which he was named a suspect, Matthew Oliver’s anger was apparent based on his comments — which included he was set up by a “crack head” and blamed the sheriff’s office for “slandering his name.””Matthew Oliver if you would like to discuss your active warrant, please call the Fugitive Warrants Unit at 813-235-6064,” replied Pasco Fugitive Warrants a couple of hours later.Instead of calling the sheriff’s office, Oliver continued to detail his alibi, writing he was “cut during an MMA fight, got MRSA” and was hospitalized for two months during the robbery in question.
Upon seeing Oliver’s responses to the posting, Facebook bystanders jumped in with quips like, “He’ll be on “World’s Dumbest Criminals” in no time…” and “Ur runnin from the popo & post on your picture? Lol,” according to First Coast News.
Some of Oliver’s other comments were captured by local Tampa NBC News:
“Why should I have to leave work and sit in jail with a 10000 dollar bond? Were in a recession fyi and I don’t have the kind of money or assets laying around to afford to sit in jail for something I didn’t do,” Oliver commented.Oliver added in another comment, “I’ve been in the hospital since the end of April its hard to prove something when I’m hooked up to Antibiotics. And now I’m out what do you think I’m doing? My innocence shouldn’t have to be proven when there’s proof on paper that I was somewhere else, the police should pay a little more attention to what there[sic] doing before they just start declaring people Fugitives and putting Warrants out. This isn’t Nazi Germany, there’s[sic] certain procedures that need to be followed and I doubt any of them were.”
Indeed, the Fugitive Warrants unit posted on the Facebook page that Oliver’s hospital claim was true, responding in the comments, “I have verified that Matt’s post about being in the hospital is true. In an earlier post, I provided a telephone number for him to call us. If he feels he does not fit the definition of the word ‘fugitive,’ I will be hearing from him.”
For whatever reason, it appears the Fugitive Warrants unit apparently did not feel that Oliver’s hospital claim absolved him of the authorities’ interest in him. It is not clear exactly what Oliver’s alleged connection is or isn’t to the robbery in question. (Here’s your legal disclaimer that the subject of an arrest is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty).
The Pasco Sheriff’s Office only launched the online program in April. Authorities post ‘wanted’ photos and information pertaining to the alleged crimes connected to fugitives for which they have outstanding warrants, and they ask the public’s assistance in posting tips. You’d think the page would be overwhelmed by trolls and useless posts, making it inefficient, but apparently that isn’t the case. In just over its first week, tips from the page led to the successful capture of 2 fugitives, and on Friday the sheriff’s office again credited the program for arrests.
Pasco Sheriff’s Office posted the updated news of Oliver’s arrest – on its Facebook page. According to NBC News, it was the first time the office had ever had a fugitive comment on his own Facebook post.
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