A limousine driver used his camera phone to capture a photo of a robber who targeted him at a car wash Oct. 1. The robber, later identified as James Robert Barker, parked his truck in a nearby wash bay and approached Ismael Miranda while he was cleaning his limo. They talked for a short time before the robber pulled out a knife and demanded Miranda’s money. Barker chased Miranda, threw a trashcan at him and then fled.
As Barker fled, Miranda used his camera phone to snap a photograph of him and his pickup truck. Officers arrived and used the photo to dispatch an accurate picture and information about Barker. Police were able to track him down with a matter of minutes. Barker is now being held on charges of aggravated robbery.
“I don’t think camera phones were made with the intent of being crime fighting tools, but they can certainly be just that,” said Don Aaron, a spokesman for the Nashville Police.
