October 9, 2011

IGotYa app sends a photo of the person who steals an iPhone to the phone's owner...

... but what if you only look like the guy in the photo and the police arrest you?
"It looks a little like me," [Brian] Chattoo told police. But he said that the scar over his left eye is different than the one on the man in the photo. Chattoo noted that his scar is horizontal while "his [in the photo] is vertical," adding, "I don't do robberies."...

His sister, Laura, said her brother's face was shorter, his lips were plumper and his eyebrows were more manicured.

"He does them himself," she said.
Oh, man. On top of all your troubles, you've got a sister telling the world that you do your eyebrows.

I'd say: Compare the ears. Ears are distinctive, and these 2 guys have completely different ears. (That is... assuming the photo provided by the family is accurate.)

17 comments:

Michael K said...

Several laptops have been recovered by photos taken of the thief by the camera in the lid. I would say timing would be critical. If the photo is five minutes after the device was stolen, you've got a problem.

edutcher said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
edutcher said...

In this case, the ears are distinctive.

Given that many body parts may be distinctive or even unique, I can see where the cops would want prints of all kinds of things

Hagar said...

Also, the guy on the phone has a stud in his ear.

Carol_Herman said...

Lawyers always manipulate the way their clients look in court! They use the same tricks that are used when a character actor goes to make himself look "different."

My mom was rubbed (in her store), at gunpoint. The kid had an acne pimple on his chin. Which she noticed. And, while she was at the register, dropping in bills to his paper bag, he told her to take off her engagement ring, and drop that in, too.

Because she sold jeans. And, the kids knew her ... someone said they new the Italian kid. And, gave her his name. Which she then looked up and found in the Brooklyn white pages.

He was arrested. And, we went to night court. The change in appearance was very dramatic! He'd had his hair done, with a cut at the barbershop, that also changed the part of his hair.

He was wearing a suit.

It was just a day or two after the robbery. And, what my mom recognized was the zit on the chin. So she identified him.

BEHIND THE STAGE, his lawyer came over to my mom and made an offer. Would she lower the charges if she got her engagement ring back?

Of course. So, the ring came down from the judge who told her to examine it. YUP.

But going out with the "he's 3 dimentional. And, your photo is two-dimentional ... always cuts a lawyer the thread of saying, "nope, not the same person."

By the way, when he couldn't "open" the iPhone ... he tossed it into the garbage. Hence, he doesn't have it. It's not a gun. The iPhone was reported missing! Anyone but Cyrus Vance would stand for convicting this fella with a FELONY.

Oh, this creep and his family is spending a fortune on a criminal defense lawyer! They're gonna be "out of pocket" some real cash!

Carol_Herman said...

Ears are the same down to the earring!

Want to know how the photo of the perp was taken? By putting the focus to the left eye and ear ... to make them look larger.

SAME PERSON!

Wince said...

Althouse is right about the ears.

Not guilty of stealing the iPhone, but he may be the elusive "Unibrower" on the FBI's Most Wanted List.

The Dude said...

Thanks for repeating the zit story, sorry your mother was rubbed, although she probably wasn't sorry.

Curious George said...

"This is embarrassing," Brian Chattoo's mother, Hema, told the Daily News after his arrest."

I can understand why having your son falsely arrested could be "embarrassing"...except:

"She gave the photo to cops, who arrested Chattoo, 23, on Friday. It's unclear what led them to the suspect, who has 14 arrests on his record, but the phone has not been recovered."

and:

"But he was ordered to stay in jail for 10 days on a prior DUI bust."

Hey, Hema, your son's a dirtbag. Nice job.

chickelit said...

Althouse is right about the ears.

Of course she's right, but unoriginal. The Gestapo recorded side-on, unobstructed photos of prisoners, specifically showing the outer ear structure. Here is Erich Honecker's photos from his arrest: link.

At least one modern European country required a side-on, unobstructed photo which clearly showed the ear for passports. Women were required to pull their hair back to reveal the outer ear.

Fred4Pres said...

This reminds me of the newscaster reporting a rape suspect/manhunt and behind him is an artist composite sketch that looks just like the newscaster.

Rose said...

This would be a good time to test that Facial Recognition Software.

bagoh20 said...

" She said the family was mortified that cops had declared her brother a thief"...

Again.

DADvocate said...

Different ears, different hair lines, but all black guys look alike to the cops. Right?

Hagar noticed what should have been quite obvious to the cops.

Toshstu said...

In the near future, your phone will analyze fingerprints and perform a database search, notifying authorities if there is a hit.

In the not-as-near future, your cellphone will arrest the thief.

wv: motch: How Obama pronounces "match" when in Pakistan.

Known Unknown said...

Lips, eyebrows, and eye structure are all different, too.

CRS said...

Consider the differences in perspective due to both distance and angle. The iPhone shot is taken from a much lower angle relative to the skull, and from maybe two feet away. Now scrutinize details like non-uniformities in beard growth, hairline trimming, possibly some early grey at the temples, and yes, the ears. It's plainly the same guy.

Of course, the suspect shouldn't be deprived of his liberty without close examination the original, high-resolution iPhone shot.