Federal agents and NYPD investigators identified and arrested a Brooklyn man for robbing a high-end boutique in Manhattan because the thief bragged about his haul on social media, authorities said.
Authorities arrested Eric Spencer, 29, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, over the weekend, the US attorney said. He faces an armed robbery charge in connection with a brazen daytime smash-and-grab-style robbery of a Chanel store in Soho on February 2, authorities said.
In a since-deleted post, Spencer bragged on social media that he had so many luxury items that he could open his own small boutique, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.
Spencer posted that he has “SO MUCH DOUBLE C RN I COULD OPEN A SMALL BOUTIQUE FRFR,” according to the complaint. “Double C” is a nickname for Chanel because of the brand’s interlocking C logo, according to an FBI agent; “RN” is shorthand for “right now” and “FRFR” means “for real, for real.”
Federal authorities also credited the bust on the review of video images from the store, the street outside, and Spencer’s neighborhood.
Spencer “put the public and store personnel in grave danger when he committed a brazen daylight armed robbery of a SoHo boutique earlier this month,” US Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a news release.
Federal authorities said that when a security guard confronted Spencer, he yelled, “What are you going to do? Shoot me?” and then reached into his waistband to point the butt of a firearm at the guard.
“Nobody touch me,” Spencer yelled, according to the federal complaint, “Get everything! Grab everything!”
“Now the FBI and NYPD have grabbed Spencer, who is in federal custody and awaiting his day in court,” Strauss said in a statement… Â Â Fox5 News