Pennsylvania Man Arrested After Sharing His Own Mugshot On Facebook
If you’re a wanted man, it’s probably best not to use social media to provoke the police. Anthony James Lescowitch, 35, learned that the hard way.
The Freeland Police Department in Pennsylvania posted a mugshot of Lescowitch to its Facebook page on Monday, stating that he was wanted for “Aggravated Assault and numerous other charges.”
Police told Times Leader that Lescowitch almost immediately shared the post on his own Facebook page and used the opportunity to mock the department for not being able to capture him yet.
From there, police used a simple catfishing scheme to trick Lescowitch into giving himself up, and he was in custody within 45 minutes of sharing the mugshot.
An undercover officer used a fake Facebook profile to pose as a fictitious attractive woman and engage Lescowitch. For about half an hour, the officer gathered key information and showed interest in meeting him.
Lescowitch first declined an offer to meet for drinks. The officer persisted, asking where he was and stating, “The least you can do is come out and have a cigarette with me.”
Lescowitch agreed and gave the undercover officer a place to meet. Officers arrived at the designated place and arrested the man without further incident.
Within two hours of the original Facebook post, officers wrote a follow-up summarizing the ordeal:
Lescowitch is currently being held at Luzerne County Correctional Facility in lieu of $25,000 bail. He has a preliminary court hearing set for Jan. 29. According to the Associated Press, charges against him from a July incident include aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.
This isn’t his first run-in with the law. Standard Speaker wrote in 2012 that he’s been incarcerated about 15 times since the age of 18.