Social Media Helps Oklahoma Co. Deputies Catch Fugitive

The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office caught an accused police impersonator using the power of social media.

Tuesday, April 15th 2014, 11:26 pm

By: News 9


The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office caught an accused police impersonator using the power of social media.

The OCSO started "Fugitive Friday" in March, in which it posts a picture of a wanted person on Facebook and Twitter every Friday.

Tuesday, it paid off with the capture of a wanted felon on impersonation charges.

The OCSO posted David Mendenhall's photo on April 4 and arrested him April 15.

"You have to use social media now," said Mark Myers with the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office. "You can take your message, you have an instant audience and you can solve crimes."

The warrants squad tracked Mendenhall down to a house in Shawnee.

A woman and a 3-year-old child were inside the home when the warrants squad found Mendenhall hiding in a closet.

"For us to be able to hit the send button 11 days ago and then have him here in our jail today, that's great," Myers added.

Mendenhall was wanted for riding around with a buddy in Midwest City, flashing a fake badge and demanding a victim's vehicle keys.

"Who we have to thank for this arrest is the public, you know, the folks who are following us on Twitter, who are following us on Facebook," Myers said.

The OCSO said Mendenhall was its first capture through Fugitive Friday postings.

News 9 reported on Mendenhall on Thanksgiving Day in 2011, when he was accused of burglary and led authorities on a high speed chase in Harrah.

11/28/2011 Related Story: High Speed Chase In Harrah Ends In Arrests Of Burglary Suspects

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News on 6 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

April 15th, 2014

March 14th, 2024

December 4th, 2023

September 25th, 2023

Top Headlines

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024

March 29th, 2024