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Police: Facebook Tips Led To Arrest In 2 Home Robberies
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville police have a man suspected in two home invasion robberies on the Westside in the last two months, thanks to tips from the public about the man’s identity.
Police arrested 22-year-old Travis Overton on Thursday after they said the public, once notified by the media, posted on the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Facebook page about who they thought the man seen in surveillance pictures was.
That information was passed to detectives, and within hours, Overton was identified and arrested. He was booked into the Duval County jail and is being held with bail set at $2 million.
Police said Overton used the two victims’ credit cards at local businesses.
Police said that several items and a vehicle were stolen about 6:20 a.m. June 7 in a home invasion robbery in the 4400 block of Chippewa Drive. The items and vehicle have since been recovered.
Police said that money, a credit card and a vehicle were stolen in a second home invasion in the 7500 block of Impala Lane about 2 a.m. Thursday. The vehicle had not been recovered as of Thursday afternoon.
“I thought that was the most heinous act threatened that I had ever heard of,” said Ortega resident Anne Adams, who lives next to where one of the home invasion robberies happened.
Adams and her husband, Bill, were relieved to hear a suspect has been arrested, but they said they will still be taking precautions.
“Normally, we keep the door open. We don’t do that anymore,” Bill Adams said.
“I think it’ll be quite some time before people relax around here,” Anne Adams said.
JSO spokeswoman Lauri-Ellen Smith said that Facebook is not only a popular social media tool, but it is also an avenue in the future of law enforcement, one that police said led to Overton’s arrest.
“What you’ll see in the coming weeks is a new online crime mapping tool,” Smith said.
One of the victims said in a phone interview that he was relieved to hear of an arrest and hopes this kind of crime doesn’t happen again.
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