The victim of a home invasion helped Cranston Police catch a suspect with a trap when he saw his stolen Jordans sneakers for sale on Facebook and posed as a buyer.
Police said they got a phone call on Sept. 16 by a man who said his apartment was broken into and 10 pairs of his Jordan sneakers were stolen. He then saw the sneakers for sale on a Facebook group page by a man identified as Michael Aurelio.
The victim got his sister to make a fake Facebook account and she pretended to be interested in buying the sneakers, setting up a meeting outside Park View Middle School for the exchange.
Several officers responded to the scene and sure enough, Aurelio was there in his Nissan. Officer Ryan M. Shore turned on his emergency lights and Aurelio reportedly "reached around frantically" inside of his car.
The car smelled like burning marijuana, police said, and Aurelio told police that he was "meeting up to sell some sneakers," which were in the trunk.
The victim, who was parked down the street, told police that he could ID the sneakers and mentioned a paper receipt inside one of the boxes under the paper inside the shoe box.
Sure enough, police found the receipt under the paper and promptly took Aurelio into custody for receiving stolen goods.
Despite the evidence, Aurelio told police that he got the shoes "at the basketball courts" and "one pair online."
Police also found a pair of brass knuckles in Aurelio's car. As a result, he was charged with a weapon violation as well.
Aurelio, 20, of 10 Oak St., Cranston, was arraigned in Third Division District Court before Judge William C. Clifton. He was released on $2,000 personal recognizance.
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