An early nominee for dumbest criminal of 2013 has emerged after a wanted Colombian jewel thief gave away his location to authorities after posting pictures of himself on Facebook.
Charles Rodriguez, an alleged member of the London-based gang the “Latin Kings,” reportedly robbed a British diamond trader back in October for more than $106,000. Police were unable to apprehend Rodriguez as he quickly fled to Brazil under a fake name then traveled to Colombia where he knew he could not be extradited as Colombia does not have an extradition agreement with England.
Rodriguez was seemingly in the clear, but then he went and broke the oldest rule in the book — don’t return to the scene of the crime. Not finished there, Rodriguez then had the audacity [idiocy] to post pictures of himself sightseeing in famous London squares, after he had uploaded pictures from Brazil of course.
As British Detective Sergeant Roger Smethurst put it, “Rodriguez’s arrogance was astonishing. After committing an appalling attack on a jewelry trader, he fled the country to his native Colombia where he knew he could not be extradited. However, his lack of remorse was evident by the fact that he brazenly posted sightseeing pictures from Brazil — at a time when he was on the run — on his Facebook page.”
“Rodriguez must have thought he was above the law and untouchable because even when he finally returned to the UK, knowing he was still wanted, he still posted pictures of himself Christmas shopping in London on his Facebook page,” said the flabbergasted detective.
Rodriguez was jailed on Tuesday after pleading guilty to the robbery charges. He was sentenced to five years and four months in prison.