#9 -Anthony Elonis
On December the 8th of 2010, Anthony Elonis was arrested in Northampton County, Pennsylvania,
after posting threatening messages on Facebook directed towards his ex-wife,
coworkers, police forces, and the FBI. Elonis refuted federal charges, claiming that he was an
aspiring rap artist and that the posts had simply been an example of artistic expression. He also
noted that many of the lyrics he’d used originated from comedy sketches, and that he’d merely altered
them to fit his personality. One of the videos in question was the song “I want to kill the
president” by The Whitest Kids U' Know, in which the artists make fun of the thin line between
freedom of speech and threatening behavior. Elonis told authorities he didn’t intend on carrying out
any of the threats he’d issued, but the court rejected his testimony. He was ultimately
sentenced to 44 months in prison, plus three years of supervised release. Almost a decade later,
then-37-year-old Elonis was charged with cyberstalking. On July the 21st of 2021,
he was accused of harassing the prosecutor from his original criminal trial, as well
as his ex-wife and another former partner, via Twitter and text messages. Elonis was
found guilty of three counts of cyberstalking on August the 5th of 2022 following a five-day trial.
#8- Jalen Harvey Real estate agent, Joseph Vindel, was
murdered on March the 7th of 2021 by 20-year-old Jalen Harvey during a robbery gone wrong in New
Orleans, Louisiana. Vindel, aged 29, had posted an ad for a red honda dirt bike on several online
marketplaces, and had eventually received an offer from Harvey for $2,800. The two men subsequently
agreed to meet. Vindel’s girlfriend grew concerned after he failed to return from the meeting,
and contacted the authorities, who tracked his phone’s GPS. Police arrived at the location
of the sale and noticed the dirt bike in the suspect’s backyard. While questioning Harvey,
he admitted to shooting Vindel but claimed to have acted in self-defense. According to his testimony,
the deceased had been the one to initially pull out a gun, allegedly wanting to keep the dirt
bike and the money. An autopsy conducted on the victim’s remains determined that he’d suffered
from injuries to his hands, which indicated he couldn’t have been holding a weapon in the
moments leading up to his death. Harvey eventually admitted to attempting to destroy evidence of the
crime by dousing the victim’s body with gasoline. He was found guilty of first-degree murder, as
well as obstruction of justice and monetary abuse, and was consequently sentenced to life in prison.
#7-James McKinney Jr., Jaquan Taylor, and Shemar Pope
A trio of young adults named James McKinney Jr., Jaquan Taylor, and Shemar Pope were arrested on
October the 10th of 2018 in connection to a shooting that occurred in Beaufort County,
South Carolina. The group had reportedly been arguing with cousins Desmond Gorham and Kyale
Gaskins Jr., on social media before the two parties eventually agreed to meet in-person. When
the cousins, who were 18 and 20, respectively, arrived at the agreed-upon location, McKinney,
Taylor, and Pope opened fire. Police were alerted by concerned neighbors,
who’d heard the altercation and ensuing gunfire. The three suspects had managed to flee by the
time police made it to the address. Both victims were taken to the ER, where they were reportedly
kept in stable condition. Pope turned himself in later that same night, while the two other
suspects were arrested soon after, whereupon they were each charged with two counts of
assault with intent to kill. Their bonds were set at varying amounts between $30,000 and $50,000.
#6 -Tristin Greene, Dawn Embry, and Brittany Farmer
All in their late teens or early 20s were arrested at a parking lot in Saint Augustine,
Florida on May the 16th of 2017. The trio had reportedly attacked a fourth woman over
a Facebook disagreement. An off-duty deputy noticed the three culprits running up to an SUV
outside a Publix store, and contacted 911. Several witnesses then saw the three young women striking
the victim and pulling at her hair as she stepped out of her car. Embry and Greene were reported as
having been visibly intoxicated, which was later confirmed when they were unable to legibly sign
their affidavits. The women initially claimed not to have been the ones who started the scuffle,
explaining how it had begun as a social media dispute, which then continued in the parking lot
when they were attacked by the unidentified woman and her friends. A video recorded by a passerby,
as well as the off-duty deputy’s testimony, contradicted this claim. All three women were
charged with assault and battery, but only Greene and Embry were detained. Farmer was allowed to
leave on her own recognizance after being unable to find someone to look after her children.
#5-Joshua Gorgone
On April the 5th of 2021, 54-year-old Denise Williams was fatally stabbed after agreeing to
meet Facebook Marketplace seller, Joshua Gorgone in Geistown, Pennsylvania. 26-year-old Gorgone
had listed a refrigerator for $160 on the social media marketplace, and had reportedly received an
offer from Williams. The latter’s family reported her missing after she failed to arrive home after
work on the day of her agreed-upon meeting with the seller. Investigators were able to use her
cell phone’s GPS to triangulate her location. They found Williams’ abandoned car, with no
signs of the woman herself. Her family allowed detectives access to her social media accounts,
which led to the discovery of her conversation with the would-be seller. Williams had intended to
buy the fridge as a gift for her boyfriend. Upon arriving at the suspect’s home, officers came upon
the victim’s body in the bathroom. Gorgone was arrested and immediately confessed, explaining
how they’d begun arguing over the fridge’s price, and that he’d lost his temper, at which point he
grabbed a knife and stabbed Williams multiple times. He was held in custody without bail while
awaiting trial. An autopsy revealed several defensive wounds on Williams’ body, indicating
that she’d fought back against her assailant before ultimately succumbing to his attack.
#4- Daphne Ann Crawford On May the 24th of 2016, 29-year-old Daphne
Ann Crawford and her 28-year-old husband, Alan, began making violent online threats following
an incident at Mel’s diner, in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It wasn’t immediately made clear
what the initial altercation centered around. However, when a customer made a Facebook post
about the incident at the restaurant, Crawford replied, threatening to shoot them and their
family. She also posted intimidating messages directed towards the establishment’s employees,
adding pictures of her husband holding an assault rifle and dressed in Middle Eastern attire,
explaining they’d converted to Islam. Crawford was arrested and charged with making threats in
the first-degree. Her husband was also taken into custody on unrelated charges, following a joint
investigation by Fayetteville police and the FBI in connection to possession of illicit substances
and firearms. Officers conducted a search of the Crawford household and discovered three AR-15
rifles, a 12-gauge shotgun, several handguns, and over 2,000 rounds of ammunition. Alan,
also known by the name Omar Usman Khalid, was held without bond and considered a flight
risk after authorities discovered he had close ties in Maryland, Oklahoma, and North Africa.
#3-Andrew MacDonald Over the course of several weeks
in November of 2009, Massachusetts resident Andrew MacDonald engaged in several heated arguments over
Facebook with an unidentified 24-year-old man. The two parties eventually agreed to
parlay their dispute into an in-person meeting. When 19-year-old MacDonald arrived at the scene,
the two men began brawling. Before the police were called, MacDonald reportedly bit the victim’s ear
clean off. As officers subsequently took him into custody, he seemed unfazed, stating he wouldn’t
have gotten in “so much trouble” if he’d knocked the unidentified man out. Friends of the victim
recovered ripped portions of his earlobe from the scene and brought them to South Shore Hospital,
where he was being treated. It’s unknown whether or not the doctors were able to reattach the
appendage. MacDonald was released on a $10,000 bail pending the continuation of the case.
Today’s topic was requested by Gordon Alias Me and River Parish. if you have any other topics
you’d like to learn about subscribe and let us know in the comments section below.
#2-Robert Frese 62-year-old Robert Frese,
a resident of Exeter, New Hampshire, was arrested on May the 23rd of 2018 after making defamatory
posts about local police chief Bill Shupe. Frese was charged with criminal defamation of character,
a class B misdemeanor, after accusing Shupe of covering up another officer’s misconduct
without presenting evidence. The charges were dropped after the American Civil Liberties
Union got involved, labeling the arrest as an attempt to silence criticism of authority.
Frese filed a wrongful arrest lawsuit later that year, and on February the 8th of 2021,
was awarded a settlement of $17,500. #1- Marcelino Santiago Lopez
Minnesota resident Marcelino Santiago Lopez murdered Brandon Jose Nieves on April the 2nd
of 2020 following an online dispute over a woman with whom they were both romantically involved.
19-year-old Lopez had threatened to kill Nieves several times in the weeks prior to the attack,
and had eventually challenged his love rival to a fight. The young man met with 20-year-old Nieves,
who was accompanied by an unidentified teenager. During the ensuing altercation,
Lopez reportedly shot both of them before fleeing the scene. Emergency
services rushed to the South St. Paul address after concerned neighbors called 911. Nieves,
who’d been shot in the head, was pronounced dead, but his underage companion managed to
make a full recovery after being brought to the hospital. Later that night,
Lopez reached out to the authorities himself and willingly confessed to committing the shooting,
but alleged that he’d been acting in self-defense. According to his testimony, he’d felt threatened
after a group of men had surrounded him and began shooting to scare them off. Nevertheless,
he was arrested and indicted on first-degree murder charges, as well as counts of attempted
murder and assault. One year later, Lopez was sentenced to life in prison without
the possibility of parole. An additional 14 years were later added to his sentence for
the attempted murder of the second victim. Thanks for watching! Would you rather never
be allowed to use social media again or never be allowed to use any streaming
service for the rest of your life? Let us know in the comment section below!