A Bay Area rapper is in jail after police in East Palo Alto say he broke into someone's home and that homeowner tracked him down with a surveillance photo and a music video on YouTube.
In the video, the man allegedly raps about burglarizing homes and breaking down the door. Police said the suspect stole thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and electronics from two homes. One of the homeowners did not give up on finding the suspect.
Victor Bell's arrest did not happen through typical police work.
"Outstanding work by the victims in each case that gave information to the police that led us to him," San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
Bell, 24, is accused of burglarizing two homes: one in Redwood City and the other in East Palo Alto. Bell was on parole for residential burglary at the time of the suspected burglaries, according to Wagstaffe.
Police said in both cases the homeowners' surveillance cameras caught him on the properties. The East Palo Alto victim posted a screenshot from his surveillance video online to find out the man's identity.
According to Wagstaffe, the homeowner learned the man is a local rapper from Redwood City known as Mummy 500, who brags about burglarizing homes a rap video on YouTube.
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"When defendants do this type of action, they're stupid and that's just a stupid act," Wagstaffe said. "We view that not dissimilar than if he were sitting in an interview room with a detective and told the detective 'I like to commit burglaries.'"
Police said they arrested Bell two weeks after burglaries when he showed up to meet with his parole officers for a previous burglary case.
"He went to his parole office to meet with his parole officer on March 7th of this year, wearing jewelry from both burglaries," Wagstaffe said.
Bell is in a Redwood City jail with bail set at $75,000. His next court date is scheduled for May 31.
