People do astoundingly stupid shit online. But for all the noise we make about everything you should never post on social media, it should really go without saying that potentially implicating yourself in a felony crime by way of a publicly available video is a no-go. Alas, such is the case for one Missouri man who allegedly posted a how-to video of himself removing his police-issued ankle monitor to Facebook.
Dustin Wayne Burns, 33, was reportedly charged this week with tampering with electronic monitoring equipment, according to the Springfield News-Leader and court records. According to the readily available paper trail that is Facebook, a user boldly posted the nearly four-minute guide to breaking the law in July, captioning the clip:
Today’s lesson how to remove a GPS tracking bracelet with out stopping the circuit … encase [sic] anyone was curious.
Investigators believe the man in the Facebook video — which it’s worth mentioning is still viewable as of publication from the account dustin.burns770 — to be Burns. The video shows a man removing the device from his ankle using what appears to be a butter knife and various other tools.
Remarkably, it seems that isn’t all the ill-advised material individual in question shared to the account, including accounts of travel (which is commonly restricted in probation agreements). Per the Springfield News-Leader:
In subsequent posts, the Facebook account references trips to Utah, Boise, Idaho and Oregon.
In August, the Facebook account posted a video of a man who looks like Burns walking through what appears to be a large marijuana farm with the caption: “Dream come true.”
Court records show several probation violations were filed this [winter] against Burns and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Burns has reportedly been held at a Springfield gaol since August 28 and is not represented by an attorney.
Please, do not do this.