Shoplifter Apologizes On Facebook Live To Avoid Jail Time

Facebook Live has been a powerful tool for users of the massive social network. With the press of a button, any Facebook user can stream whatever they are doing or seeing from their phone. The feature has been used to document crimes, but the owner of a Florida smoke shop used it Monday to publicly shame an accused shoplifter after the fact.

Tyler Stanley walked into the Bohemian Lair smoke shop in Cocoa, Florida to apply for a job on Saturday, Click Orlando reported. As a frequent shopper at Bohemian Lair, he liked the place, but that did not stop him from apparently trying to steal something while he was there to ask for work. Shop owner Bo Larsen caught the theft on video and held it over Stanley when he returned to the shop Monday.

Stanley claimed he did not remember the act because he is bipolar, but that did not stop Larsen from offering an ultimatum: Publicly apologize on Facebook Live or get arrested. The video was shared hundreds of times before Larsen decided to delete it, but reporter James Sparvero tweeted a portion of it Tuesday.

In the video, Stanley called the theft “the biggest mistake” of his life and seemed remorseful for his actions. He was cited for trespassing, but not arrested. According to Click Orlando’s report, he was summarily banned from other smoke shops in the area.

The incident was just one of multiple crimes involving Facebook Live in the same week. A juvenile detention officer in Arkansas was arrested after being caught giving contraband to inmates, KAIT-8 reported Wednesday. Meanwhile, a man in Akron, Ohio was hit with federal charges for a Facebook Live video in which he rapped about killing someone who was a person of interest in an FBI investigation, according to Cleveland.com.