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Police Bust Burglary Ring By Posting Photo Of Naked Suspect's Clothing On Facebook

COLLIER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- The Rennerdale section of Collier Township is usually pretty quiet.

Not long ago though, a resident there saw what they believed to be a couple of men trying to break into cars. There was a chase, there was a struggle, and before the struggle ended, the suspect, a teenager, stripped out of all his clothes and ran away naked.

But that's just one unusual aspect of this story.

"You would think that somebody would call if their son came home naked," said Collier Police Chief Craig Campbell, "but surprisingly, nobody called."

So, the police department went to their Facebook page and posted the evidence they had in hand: his clothing.

That included: size 10-and-a-half Nike Air Jordans, gym shorts, a "Lean Mean" t-shirt, Under Armour underwear, Copenhagen tobacco, and five $1 bills.

According to the police department's posting, the clothing smelled like cat urine and had what appeared to be dog or cat fur inside the gym shoes.

Even without a facial picture, a number of people responded.

"We recovered his clothing and I put pictures of it on the department's Facebook page figuring that somebody from the area knew him, and in fact they did," said the chief. "I got numerous people from the area who called or emailed me and said, 'Hey, I know those clothes.' That's probably this kid and this is his friend and that investigation led us to several suspects in the area."

It's a testimony, says the chief, to the power of social media.

"Oh, it's huge," says Chief Campbell. "That's the way a lot of people communicate, especially young people. If you don't cater to your audience, you're out there alone. Sol we put the stuff on the Facebook page, and particularly, the Rennerdale area is a very active community and they responded overwhelmingly to protect their community."

The suspect who ran away without his clothes is a juvenile, and is charged as a juvenile.

But others, alleged to be in this ring, have been charged as adults, including 18-year-old Matthew Bertges of Carnegie. Bertges' mother and stepfather are face charges, including tampering with evidence.

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