NORFOLK, Va. — A man wanted to party before being sent to prison but that party was cut short after a social media post.
WTKR News 3 reported last month that Keith Williams was wanted after a video he allegedly posted after being sentenced in federal court. Now he is back in jail, accused of violating his bond conditions.
Williams admitted he was part of a mail fraud scheme.
He was caught in a hotel room with 61 different stolen checks totaling more than 169-thousand dollars with 39 different victims, according to federal prosecutors.
For over 9 months, 50 blue boxes and other mailboxes were broken into throughout Chesapeake using a stolen arrow key.
Investigations
Convicted mail thief accused of threatening witness
Authorities put a GPS tracking device in a blue box to find the suspects and eventually arrested Williams.
On March 11, 2024, Williams received a two-year sentence in federal court but the judge allowed him to leave the courthouse and turn himself back in on May 2nd to begin serving his sentence.
Soon after the sentencing, he allegedly posted a video of himself on Instagram referring to himself as a Blood and saying he should have thrown a smoke bomb in the courthouse.
Federal prosecutors allege that he also threatened a witness in the case, then expressed his plans to party and get high for the next 45 days until he started serving his time, according to federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant, tracked him down, and put him in the Western Tidewater Regional Jail.
Watch previous coverage:
“It's it amazes me every day what people put on text, video, social media. The police are not stupid,” said Legal Analyst Sonny Stallings who has been a lawyer for almost 50 years.
He’s watched how social media has dramatically changed the legal landscape. He said it’s not just criminals posting too much but victims and many others.
“The bottom line is don't put that stuff out there. People going to see it. People going to disseminate it, and you can end up in jail. I tell people this all the time, watch what you post and say,” said Stallings.
WTKR News 3 follows through on crimes against the postal service and crimes involving people trying to steal your mail.
“I think that upsets people that they're messing with the mail and I think that's why the government goes after them as hard as they can. The mail is kind of a sacred area that, for years, people have respected. When you're going into a mailbox. It gets people upset serious and it’s a federal offense,” said Stallings.
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach instructor says more women are joining firearms classes
William's former attorney previously told us no comment about the case.
It does not appear that any additional charges have been filed publicly in this case against Williams.
We asked federal prosecutors about new charges. They said, “We can only share information that is in the public record, but we appreciate your interest in this case.”
