Missouri Man Charged After Posting How-To Ankle Monitor Removal Video To His Own FB Page
“Today’s lesson how to remove a GPS tracking bracelet with out stopping the circuit…encase anyone was curious.” – Dustin Burns (who is, not surprisingly, currently in jail):
Encase you were wondering, I absolutely went down a rabbit hole on Burns’s FB page & discovered he’s no stranger to poor life choices. He is into prison, is not into spelling, has a ‘white pride’ tattoo on his chest & a knife tatt commemorating the time he got stabbed (which he’s pretty proud of).
From the Springfield News-Leader:
A Missouri man is in jail after authorities say he filmed himself using a butter knife and a screwdriver to remove an ankle monitor — then posted the video to Facebook. The July video referenced by investigators is still posted on what appears to be the Facebook page of Dustin W. Burns, 33.
Court records show Burns pleaded guilty to violating a restraining order earlier this year and was placed on probation.
“This is how you take an ankle bracelet off,” says a voice in the video, “without breaking the circuit.”
A man in the video can be seen with his pants leg rolled up. He sticks the butter knife in and out of the device, before grabbing a utility tool to unscrew part of it. The man advises viewers to remove the ankle monitor without damaging it, thus avoiding thousands of dollars in fines.
The video ends with the man fully removing the bracelet and holding it up to the camera.
In subsequent posts, the Facebook account references trips to Utah, Boise, Idaho and Oregon. In August, the Facebook account posted a video of a man who looks like Burns walking through what appears to be a large marijuana farm with the caption: “Dream come true.”
He’s been in jail since August 28th for other reasons and this week was additionally charged with tampering with his electronic monitoring equipment from the video.
With the ankle monitor he joined a club including Harvey Weinstein, Paul Manafort, Martha Stewart, Paris Hilton, etc… I’m sure it’s uncomfortable & I get why you’d want to take it off but knowing the consequences I think it’s one of those things that you just have to embrace & wear with style and confidence.