There’s a big difference between friends on social media and those in real life.
One California woman learned this lesson the hard way.
Stacey Grant posted a note on Facebook telling friends that she and her family were away on vacation in Las Vegas. Hours later, a U-Haul was at her front door, with three men stealing everything they could get their hands on.
It can happen to anyone. You put up a post and someone “Likes” it. This is what Michael Batson, 21, did after the status update Stacey posted went up.
He went a step further and text messaged her, inquiring about her trip with her family in Las Vegas, Nevada.
But police say they saw Batson and two others — Phillip McKnight, 32, and Tyrone Gibson, 20 — as they loaded property from the woman’s Fontana home into a U-Haul truck parked outside.
Grant said she had posted a note on Facebook that she was enjoying a vacation with family in Vegas. But she soon found out that her info had been used by one of her online “friends” to burglarize her home.
Officers sitting on a stakeout nearby spotted the three men break into the Windcrest Drive home and patiently watched as they loaded up the truck with items that included flat screen televisions and furniture.
All three men were arrested at the scene and police called Grant’s family, who cut their vacation short and headed home right away.
The suspects were booked on charges that include burglary, possession of stolen property and conspiracy.
We want to hear from you? What’s “share-worthy” on social media and what is off limits?
