Stolen Gretzky jersey recovered using Facebook
Posted Oct 31, 2010 06:35:07 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An Ottawa store owner is getting praise from Police Chief Vern White for using Facebook and security video to nab a thief.
Chris Torti, owner of The Clubhouse sports apparel store on Bronson had a collector’s edition Wayne Gretzky jersey and hat shoplifted by a group of four men on Wednesday night.
His staffers rolled their eyes when Torti suggested checking the security video against profile pictures of the store’s Facebook friends – but within minutes, they had a name and a photo.
They handed that information to police who were able to recover the retro snap-back L.A. Kings cap and No. 99 jersey – worth about $1000 – by Friday.
White tells the Citizen he’s impressed by Torti’s initiative. The police chief says he’s never used Facebook as a tool to identify suspects – but may look at it as the force ramps up its own social media program, which will use Twitter to get details of crimes out to the public quickly.
