By Rob Bricken in
Nerdery, Video Games
Monday, Jan. 4 2010 @ 10:39AM
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So, lessons:Two weeks ago, Howard County Sheriff's Department deputy Matt Roberson tracked down a wanted fugitive through one of the most popular games on the Internet -- World of Warcraft. And he got his man. ...
In this case, online gamers were playing alongside Alfred Hightower, a man wanted on charges of dealing in a schedule III controlled substance and dealing in a schedule IV controlled substance, and two charges of dealing in marijuana. A warrant was issued for his arrest in 2007.
The sheriff's department enlisted the aid of the U.S. Marshals this summer to track down a number of fugitives as part of Operation: Falcon, and Hightower was among those targeted. Unfortunately, authorities were unable to locate him. Roberson soon found out why. The suspect had skipped the country. ...
With the help of sheriff's major Steve Rogers, Roberson began gathering information on Hightower through a number of sources. That is how they discovered that their suspect was a World of Warcraft fan.
"We received information that this guy was a regular player of an online game, which was referred to as 'some warlock and witches' game," said Roberson. "None of that information was sound enough to pursue on its own, but putting everything we had together gave me enough evidence to send a subpoena to Blizzard Entertainment. I knew exactly what he was playing -- World of Warcraft. I used to play it. It's one of the largest online games in the world." ...
Blizzard did more than cooperate. It gave Roberson everything he needed to track down Hightower, including his IP address, his account information and history, his billing address, and even his online screen name and preferred server. From there it was a simple matter to zero in on the suspect's location. ...
Roberson and Rogers contacted the U.S. Marshals, who immediately notified the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Border Services Agency. According to Rogers, Canadian authorities located Hightower in Ottawa, Ontario, and arranged to have him deported. The marshals picked up the suspect in Minneapolis, and Howard County has until Jan. 5 to bring him back here to face charges.
• Don't play World of Warcraft if you are a known drug dealer
• Blizzard will happily give your info to the police when asked
• Blizzard's full of narcs, man
• This dude paid $15 a month to get arrested
• HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
35 comments
Comments
Danicus Spamicus Decimus Meridius said:
You missed the best part. apparently Captain America is a Sheriff's Major. (Steve Rogers)
MattK replied to Danicus Spamicus Decimus Meridius:
"When Captain America throws his mighty shield (of +10 online apprehension), all those who chose of drugs to deal must yield!"
Greenman1 replied to MattK:
Haha that was the first thing i noticed as well. Captain America always dealing out justice to the criminals.
Kevin said:
I like how the deputy admitted to playing WoW.
shay said:
Isn't that how Agent Smith was caught in the Matrix?
Bill said:
For "when asked," read "when subpoenaed."
Nicnac replied to Bill:
and add "with a passing mention to national security"
Wesley Smith said:
Gotta say, this seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to just to pick up a pot dealer.
The Flash III replied to Wesley Smith:
I think the Schedule III and IV drugs were the more important (and dangerous) drugs. Pot is generally a throw-in; most drug dealers have that.
MattK said:
Kinda disappointed this didn't turn into a story about Major Steve Rogers picking up his old account (hopefully with the online name CAP'N AMERICA), tracking the guy through actually playing the game, getting to know him, to have the guy trust him, and then reveal to him his machinations just as the authorities arrive to bust down his door and haul his ass off. This is still cool, though.
steen replied to MattK:
This.
zersch said:
He was dealing more than just pot, read it again. And thanks for the heads up. *logs off WoW*
zersch said:
And I thought that was how it was going to go down too, MattK. It would have been beautiful.
RoboKy said:
Makes you wonder when Blizz is going to narc on all those guys playing with weed referencing names and constantly talking about smoking the ganj in chat...soon I hope. Not that I'm necessarily against illicit substances, but all those guys are assholes in game.
Nick replied to RoboKy:
I'm pretty sure that just because you have a name with a pot reference in it doesn't mean you actually *are* doing it.
Of course, that could be stemming from the fact that the majority of wankjobs who have names like that are the same ones who on Live have names like "DckInUrFace" or "Kllduhard", etc.
They're immature, childish, and kinda ruin the atmosphere for everyone else.
Baltimoron replied to Nick:
Verily, online gaming networks should strive to maintain atmospheres akin to those of country clubs and elite salons.
Nick replied to Baltimoron:
Yeah, because hoping to actually sit down and enjoy a game without having to see "Spoogedonu shouts: LOLWUT" every five minutes is completely unacceptable, amIrite?
MyNoNos said:
Wait, what?
I am gonna have to start playing WoW now.
For $15/mo I basically get the drug worlds version of e-harmony?
That's excellent news.
I hate networking IRL.
nibnycgrrl said:
Can I have his stuff?
Palehoof said:
It's funny how offended people on the WoW forums were about this. As if Blizzard's going to respond to a subpoena for a drug dealer's information by saying "Ain't no snitchin' yo."
tvtastegood said:
I would have thought if you went through the trouble of skipping the country to avoid the clink then you would at least be smart enough to change the billing info to your mom's address or something. That guy definetly is not the sharpest kinfe in the drawer, or should I say sharpest sword in a sheath.
Brion said:
What a great read to start off the week.
All I can imagine is the fat guy from the WOW episode of South Park door being busted in by Cap.
andyroo said:
yay Ottawa! =D
anon said:
i like how marijuana is still illegal; pretty stupid
'Stater Nuts said:
So that's where the time bullet sent Captain America.
OM said:
...The real surprise is that Boing Boing hasn't jumped all over this as a violation of civil rights and the Seventh Seal breaking and revealing that the Gummint's out to shut down the Internet. Oh well, give'em a week and it'll be their top story :-/
EVula said:
I actually did "lol" when I read "This dude paid $15 a month to get arrested". Awesome.
Hikari said:
That is a lot of hassle for a drug offense.
Lincolparadox said:
Someday, the police will catch me thanks to my $80 a month comic book habit.
Adam "TheRook" Russo said:
I was more excited by this.
"With the help of sheriff's major Steve Rogers"
Anonymous said:
Looks like his irl account was...
*puts on sunglasses*
...BANNED from the public servers.
(YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH)
Tim Ricket said:
I found this story soooo funny, i bet he was so surprised to be busted this way. I posted this story on my bolg i liked it so much
Cheers
