The FBI has arrested a popular TikToker, all thanks to a crucial, tell-tale detail in one of his videos. Federal agents arrested 22-year-old Chozen Terrell-Hannah after an investigation linked him to a series of armed robberies.
It’s a fascinating example of alleged criminals not being careful enough with their social media accounts.
The TikTok phenomenon has been going for a couple of years now.
A spiritual successor to Vine, TikTok features short, bite-sized videos, often featuring humorous observations, quick cuts and dancing, and its popularity has exploded in recent years.
Chozen Terrell-Hannah is better known as @chozenwrld on TikTok.
Terrell-Hannah has uploaded dozens of short videos to his TikTok account and racked up over a million ‘likes’ to date.
His account is a busy one.
Despite the pending charges, Terrell-Hannah has hardly taken a break from his content creation. His page is still active and his videos are still racking up comments (although at this point, many are just making fun of his arrest).
He appeared in court recently for a pair of charges.
As The Detroit News reported, Terrell-Hannah faces two serious charges: robbery affecting interstate commerce and possessing a firearm during a violent crime.
Police have been investigating since late last year, when a man wearing black with white shoes robbed a 7-Eleven in Commerce Township, Michigan.
This video is the smoking gun.
In this video, which somehow hasn’t been taken down yet, Terrell-Hannah can be seen wearing a pair of distinctive white shoes.
Since authorities had been tracing a string of robberies committed by a man wearing similar white shoes, they took notice of Terrell-Hannah’s videos.
Four robberies were committed in all.
The suspect wore similar outfits and followed the same modus operandi: pointing a black handgun at convenience store clerks and demanding money. In all four robberies, the suspect was wearing the same bright white shoes.
A tip led police in the right direction.
An anonymous tipster alerted police to Terrell-Hannah’s Snapchat account. They soon found a connected TikTok profile, where they viewed the post with Terrell-Hannah and his distinctive white Nikes.
He was captured after some surveillance.
With a suspect in mind, police tracked Terrell-Hannah near his home in Redford Township. Soon enough, they had enough evidence to make an arrest. After questioning, Terrell-Hannah admitted to committing all four robberies.
It’s important to stay safe on social media.
If you’re not committing criminal acts, this won’t happen to you. But it’s still a powerful reminder that everything we put out into the public domain can be viewed and scrutinized.
h/t: The Detroit News
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