WINNIPEG – Several tips have led to an arrest in the theft of a snowblower that was recorded and posted to YouTube, where it was viewed thousands of times.
Rob Fritz’s security cameras recorded two men loading his snowblower into the back of a pickup truck and driving away on Nov. 15. A 26-year-old man, allegedly one of the pair in the video, was arrested on Dec. 10.
READ MORE: Caught on camera: Winnipeg’s winter thieves take snowblower
“I started getting a couple of phone calls from people who have dealt with this fella in the summer,” Fritz said Friday. “This one fella had some building material stolen, and the owner followed him and flagged down and RCMP car.”
The truck in the video had a variety of items in it.
Though tips from people and help from the police led to the arrest, social media helped bring the snowblower bandits to justice, Fritz said.
“Ninety-nine per cent of the credit goes to social media. I’m really, really impressed and surprised with how quickly that came about,” Fritz said. “We have to work with the police, though. There has to be some co-operation or website … so I can upload my video there and they can edit out what they don’t want to be seen.”
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