Craigslist ad peddles jail outfit of a ‘murderer’
Forbidden fashion made a two-day appearance on Craigslist this week, when someone offered a three-piece ensemble in maximum-security red with a huge, eye-catching logo: SCC MAIN JAIL NORTH.
“Crispy double red County jail suit for murderers and violent offenders,” read the ad for the XXL shorts, trousers and Vneck shirt.
According to a short text message exchange with the poster, it was the wardrobe of a highsecurity suspect incarcerated at the Santa Clara County lockup.
“It was worn by a murderer and my boy was working laundry and snuck it out on his way out when he was released,” replied the poster.
He asked for $300 — that’s more than 10 times what the ensemble would cost from a supplier.
Sheriff Laurie Smith issued a statement that said any theft of
county property is taken seriously, and since learning of the ad an investigation has been launched.
“While it is difficult to determine whether the clothing in the photograph is genuine, we can state that it is highly unlikely for anyone to link a single set of jail issued clothing to a specific inmate,” reads the statement. “Jail issued clothing items in our facilities are not assigned to specific inmates.”
Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Reginald Cooks said inmates change clothes twice a week and claiming the offered outfit belongs to someone in particular “would be like going to a large hotel and getting the same bath towels after every cleaning.”
Cooks said that while “uniforms are often damaged and occasionally go missing,” this is the first case they are aware of selling a stolen Santa Clara County Jail outfit.
“Murderabilia” is a thing, with procured artwork, letters, clothing and other items available online at websites such as Serial Killer’s Ink and Supernaught True Crime Collectibles. That includes some true curios, such as a foilwrapped half-burrito that, as the story goes, Charles Manson left in a prison visiting room in 2002 (retail price: $995).
But those wares are at least said to have been acquired legally. Something swiped from the county jail, that’s stolen government property.
Eric Goldman, co-director of High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University, said that when Craigslist and eBay were young back in the late ’90s there were “many types of efforts to sell illicit goods.”
“Outright stolen goods, counterfeit goods,” he said, “one that stands out was someone selling dinosaur bones, which turn out to be heavily regulated.”
But since then, aboveboard marketplaces have diminished as the “dark web” encrypted networks grew. And that’s where those in the know go these days to covertly buy and sell.
“This is a case of someone who didn’t know what they were doing,” Goldman said. “You don’t see a situation like this very much anymore — it’s not often successful and when discovered often leads to criminal prosecution. They’re creating a lot of potential evidence.”
The ad was up for 45 hours before being removed shortly after noon Wednesday — a half hour after this story published online.
The poster said his friend who acquired the outfit did not want to talk to media, but before the ad disappeared they already had potential buyers lined up. Apparently, authentic American jail couture is big in Europe.
“Yeah $400 bucks offer from some dude in Switzerland,” he wrote.
A source familiar with jail operations said officials think the person may have worn the outfit out of the facility, layered beneath their street clothes. The source added it’s highly unlikely the person could have hurled it over the perimeter fence.
While Craigslist and eBay prohibit the sale of stolen items, ads for lockup garb do appear. There’s a couple currently on eBay, one offers “real prison clothing” — a tan outdoor jacket that the seller says he took when recently released from Indiana State Prison.
“I’m ask for $400 because they are hard to get out of the prison,” he wrote. “ok thank you”
It’s risky business. In 2014, an inmate in Washington absconded with his jail duds, put them online and was busted and charged with trafficking stolen goods by a sheriff’s investigator who answered the ad and offered him $200.
Cooks said those behind the Craigslist ad could face theft charges. He wouldn’t comment further on the investigation.