If you’re a felon that’s prohibited from owning or operating firearms, there are basically three ways in which you can avoid going to jail. First you could simply stop playing with guns. But if you have to play with guns, you could avoid posting photos of said good time on Facebook. Ok, if you have to post them on Facebook – at least you could tweak your privacy settings.
28-year-old Alain Ramirez of Miami, Florida did none of these things. Ramirez, who had been convicted of burglary back in 2008, was supposed to stay away from guns. He didn’t, posted some photos on Facebook, and is now facing serious prison time.
According to federal officials, it wasn’t really that hard to nab Ramirez. After they received a tip, all they had to do was check his Facebook page. There, they found a few images of Ramirez posing with guns, as well as shooting a gun at a firing range.
The photos were all easily visible to federal agents, as Ramirez had not tweaked his privacy settings to hide them.
With all that photo evidence, Ramirez pleaded guilty. He now faces as many as 10 years in prison for the violation.
The safest bet is just to avoid posting incriminating pictures on Facebook, people. If it’s illegal, keep it off Facebook. Is it that hard? Apparently, it is. You may remember a few cases in the past couple of years where posting photos on Facebook landed people in some seriously hot water.
Like that time some guy posted a photo of himself siphoning some gas from a police car on Facebook. Or how about that time a lawyer posted a photo of her client’s leopard-print underwear? And my favorite one of all – do you recall that guy who was successfully avoiding paying child support until he posted photos of himself swimming in cash all over Facebook?
Come on, people. Think.
[via Sun Sentinel]