Raid on home in AL over facebook video featuring guns

[mjsdwash]

Police like to keep files on suspected crime areas. Especially true in areas or towns with gang activity. They keep records of suspected drug houses, illegal firearms, known felons etc. Building a case as it were. Videos and other evidence like this posted freely online is like having a giant flashing sign telling the police to show up. A friend of mine is on a gang task force for a very large city. He has some of the addresses of doors he would love to kick down memorized or written down. He waits for just enough evidence such as social media like this to get a warrant or give him enough reasonable suspicion to go after some places.

makes sense. We can all agree that this was dumb on the facebook guy side. Good for society I suppose

 

[justice06rr]

Here is the story:

Washington Post: 22 heavily armed men post mannequin challenge on Facebook, much to delight of cops

So, some people posted a video of themselves posing with guns, on a property that presumably belonged to at least one of them, and the police were able to get a search warrant, conducted a raid with ATF and SWAT, breeched the door with a battering ram, and have (so far) arrested two of the men in the video.

The article - like several others I've read about this story - is vague about what search warrant was based on. (The article is explicit regarding what the two arrests were based on, but not the search warrant).

It says that Kenneth Fennell White was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

I doubt anyone here is an expert in Alabama state law, but would that also have to have been the grounds for the search warrant? In order to get the search warrant, would they have to establish that Kenneth Fennell White was a felon, and also used that home as his residence? Or just had to establish that he was ON that property while he was a felon in possession of a weapon?

Or is there some entirely other way that this video might have been used to get a search warrant?

I realize no one here probably knows the answer for certain, but maybe someone knows it better than me.

P.S. - what kind of bozo reports to prison with marijuana on his person??!

The video was quite stupid and self-incriminating.

Most of the people's faces in that video are clearly visible, which can be identified by FBI face recognition software. Anyone who is a felon is prohibited from access to firearms. If they saw just a single face of a felon holding a gun in that video, that is all the evidence they need for a warrant.

People are stupid these days on what they put on video and social media...

 

[Browning]

Can you imagine looking out your front window and seeing this crap?

Who dreams up these 'Challenges'?

I challenge you to go to school, get a decent paying job and to not hang out with felons using a video camera to document their hood-craft.

(Too long?)

I'd also be really surprised if they didn't have a ND filming this.

 

[JO JO]

More thugs off the street !!! Whats wrong with that?
If stupid was criminal all of the people in that video would be in jail.

I agree, I own and carry a firearm BUT brandishing is a crime think about it if you were
driving / walking by ? They should face charges very irresponsible what is the chances that those guns are stolen ?
as I understand it :

• It shall be unlawful for any person to point, hold or brandish any firearm or any air or gas operated weapon or any object similar in appearance, whether capable of being fired or not, in such a manner as to reasonably induce fear in the mind of another or hold a firearm or any air or gas operated weapon in a public place in such a manner as to reasonably induce fear in the mind of another of being shot or injured. However, this section shall not apply to any person engaged in excusable or justifiable self-defense. Persons violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor or, if the violation occurs upon any public, private or religious elementary, middle or high school, including buildings and grounds or upon public property within 1,000 feet of such school property, he shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.

 

[jmorris]

Facebook is literally the worlds largest facial recognition program once you are tagged in a photo it knows who you are...

Yep, it's not unlike the warrant busts they do where they call up the people and get them to come in thinking they have won something, then arrest them.

Criminals turning themselves in...what's not to like?



Nice to see Police using their head.

 

[X-Rap]

I must say I approve of the police using all info that is offered freely by stupid criminals. My concern is towards the good honest citizens who put themselves and their guns or other valuable hobbies and possessions out on social media for criminals to do what the cops have done.
And they don't wait for a warrant.

 

[herrwalther]

I must say I approve of the police using all info that is offered freely by stupid criminals. My concern is towards the good honest citizens who put themselves and their guns or other valuable hobbies and possessions out on social media for criminals to do what the cops have done.
And they don't wait for a warrant.

Mitigated risk. I don't add people on social media I don't really know. I routinely check my security settings to make sure what I share cannot be easily viewed by other people. And I don't advertise what I have or where. I have friends who share what they have. Some have very expensive collections. That is their own level of mitigated risk.

 

[X-Rap]

Understand, we all have our own limits.
I don't know what the felons with guns security settings were or if the image was passed along through other "friends".
There are many on you tube and Facebook that strongly publicize their personal lives and conduct as well as make a fair amount of spare change, I just don't think they should be surprised if someone tracks them down with unpleasant results.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Then there was the thief who posted on his Facebook page to show off something he had stolen. As I recall, the victim recognized it as the victim's missing property. Wish I had kept the link to that story.

 

[greyghost01]

I saw a guy showing a walk in closet full of guns and 3, 35 gallon drums full of ammo, This is just asking for trouble, Not very smart in MHO

 

[Tinpig]

"Manikin Challenge"

Had to look it up.

There's so much in current culture that just escapes me.
Do people really have nothing better to do than film and photograph themselves?

Tinpig (old and glad of it)

 

[jmorris]

Do people really have nothing better to do than film and photograph themselves?

Only the ugly ones...

 

[115-124-147]

From the article it is clear that there was more evidence needed for a warrant: "police investigated further and eventually got a search warrant for the property". It was probably as case of "Hey aren't these guys felons? Let's check our records."

Mike

Good point. That said, I am very curious as to precisely what that "more evidence" was. I guess in retrospect it is a pretty pointless exercise to sit around and speculate about it, as I asked people to do in my original post.

I am not understanding the defense for these felons. Isn't this an example of the gun laws we want enforced?

It's not clear whom you are addressing, but I didn't see anyone in this thread offering a "defense" of the arrested parties. Several people have explicitly defended the police. I have not defended anyone, because I could not care less about any of the people in this story - I was/am interested in the legal implications.

 

[PowerG]

Confidential informant.

 

[Frank Ettin]

.....The article - like several others I've read about this story - is vague about what search warrant was based on. (The article is explicit regarding what the two arrests were based on, but not the search warrant).
....

I doubt anyone here is an expert in Alabama state law, but would that also have to have been the grounds for the search warrant? In order to get the search warrant, would they have to establish that Kenneth Fennell White was a felon, and also used that home as his residence? Or just had to establish that he was ON that property while he was a felon in possession of a weapon?

Or is there some entirely other way that this video might have been used to get a search warrant?....

There's probably a lot more information in the hands of the authorities than you or the press have access to.

The reality is the the police had to apply for a warrant and back the application up with one of more affidavits establishing probable cause. Whatever they submitted was good enough for the judge. Ultimately the sufficiency of the warrant application can/will be tested in court.

In the meantime, without more information trying to guess why things were done and how the police were able to get the warrant is a colossal waste of time. If we don't know, we don't know; and we can't expect to be able to reliably guess.

So there's nothing to discuss.