Criminal nabbed by cops in 20 minutes thanks to huge clue

Chris Thomason was identified within 20 minutes after CCTV footage showed him committing a crime while wearing his name tag. Photo / Facebook

A bumbling thief has botched his crime spree after he was caught on surveillance footage with his name tag clearly in view.

Placer County Sheriff's Office, from California in the US, took to Facebook this week to reveal suspect Chris Thomason had been caught thanks to some amateur sleuthing by social media users.

The saga began in March this year when CCTV footage captured him allegedly using an elderly victim's stolen credit card and identity in a shop, news.com.au reports.

However, he made one big mistake — he was wearing a mechanic's uniform complete with a name tag with his real first name printed on it at the time.

After his arrest on July 8, Placer County Sheriff's Office said Facebook users had helped identify the man "within 20 minutes".

"Remember Chris? We've been trying to get a hold of him since March, after these surveillance photos showed him using an elderly victim's credit cards and identity in Sacramento," the Facebook account posted yesterday.

"You helped us ID him within 20 minutes! His full name is Chris Thomason, and after a brief out-of-state hiatus, he has returned to California.

"We're happy to report he was arrested on July 8th by the Rancho Cordova Police Department."

Mr Thomason is now facing charges of felony identity theft, and is being extradited to Placer County from Sacramento County.

The post has attracted thousands of likes, shares and comments, with social media users quick to praise police officers — and have a laugh at Mr Thomason's expense.

"Chris wore his uniform with his name plastered on it while committing the crime? Genius!" one Facebook user wrote, while another posted: "Note to self … change out of work shirt before committing a crime … What a mouth breather."

Others described him as a "loser" and a "creep" for allegedly targeting the elderly.

While police did not reveal specific details of how Mr Thomason was caught, it is believed he was identified by someone known to him shortly after officers first shared stills of the surveillance video.

CAN YOU HELP ID?? Placer County Sheriff Property Crimes detectives are looking for a mechanic named Chris, who chose to...

Posted by Placer County Sheriff's Office on Friday, 15 March 2019

Placer County Sheriff's Office first released photos of Mr Thomason on March 16, asking the community for help in identifying him.

"Placer County Sheriff Property Crimes detectives are looking for a mechanic named Chris, who chose to steal an elderly Auburn resident's identity and use the victim's credit cards along Florin Rd. near Highway 99," they posted.

"You might be asking yourself how we could possibly know that his name is Chris? Well, Chris was kind enough to wear a mechanics shirt with his name on it, presenting his name tag to a surveillance camera.

"We would like to discuss this situation with Chris — can you help us?"

That post also attracted an outpouring of likes and comments, with one resident writing: "Yet another not so bright criminal" while another added: "Dear Chris, you SUCK at being a thief (or you RULE at ID theft and stole the shirt too.) Either way, PCSO will getcha, matter of time!"