Feb 27, 2008 6:32 pm US/Eastern
Teen Catches Alleged Mugger Via MySpace Flirting
Cell SIM Card, Slick Detective Work Lead To Arrest
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Yudelka Polanco, 16, caught the alleged gang member who mugged her and took her cell phone by tracking him down on MySpace.
CBS
A Brooklyn teenager became a cyber-sleuth when she used the MySpace Web site to track down a teen who mugged her on the street and stole her cell phone.
Yudelka Polanco, 16, said the juvenile delinquent robbed her on as she was walking home in Williamsburg in January.
"He just came up from behind with some other kid and snatched my phone," Polanco told CBS 2 HD.
But the thief underestimated a tiny piece of modern-day technology found in many cell phones today: the SIM card, which contains data unique to only the individual who owns the phone, including phone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc.
After the robbery, the mugger checked his own email using Polanco's SIM card. So when Polanco, a junior at Norman Thomas High School, had her old information transferred to her new phone, the mugger's e-mail address showed up.
That's when Polanco decided to do some investigating of her own, and looked up the mugger's e-mail on MySpace. Sure enough, a profile popped up that showed a picture of the culprit, but she wanted even more evidence.
So Polanco asked a girlfriend of hers to start an online friendship with him through the social networking giant.
"I told her to request him because his page was private information so I could get a better picture of him," she said.
Turned out the mugger, identified then as 16-year-old Victor Hernandez, thought he was a ladies' man too and bought into the ploy. Hernandez sent several photos and other identifying information to Polanco's friend, and the pair finally presented the evidence to police.
Now police are saying not only did Hernandez steal Polanco's cell phone, but they also believe he is part of a gang that attacked two brothers at a Williamsburg restaurant four days after the mugging.
So what does Polanco want to say to her cell phone thief?
"You're stupid because you thought you were slick to steal a phone, and he actually signed on. That was a stupid thing to do," she said.
Polanco will be testifying against Hernandez before a Brooklyn grand jury Thursday.
Hernandez was arraigned Wednesday and faces charges of menacing, grand larceny, robbery, possession of stolen property, and harassment.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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