A thief in Central Market was identified by police using a hand-drawn sketch done by a witness. Apparently, it actually worked.
Recently, Lancaster police used the, uh, let’s just call it ‘artwork’ from a witness to identify 44-year-old, homeless, Hung Phuoc Nguyen as their guy. Yes, that’s actually his name.
He pretended to be an employee when at a vendor’s stand at Market Street while the real employees were absent. Then, he took all the cash from the stand and fled.
The police issued this statement along with the sketch:
We released all of those details together in our police log in the hope that someone recognizes the suspect,” Lancaster city police said in a Facebook post. “This was not done in jest.”
Nguyen was positively identified by a witness as well as investigators and veteran officers who recognized his physical description and alleged motive, police said.
And about the sketch itself:
While the sketch provided by the witness may have appeared amateurish and cartoonish, it, along with the distinctive physical descriptors, jogged the memory of at least one investigator to provide a potential suspect name.
Wow… it actually worked. Not to knock the witness’ art skills or anything, they did what they needed to do and were vital in helping solve a crime. I’m sure the police are grateful, even if they had to clarify they weren’t in fact kidding.
If you liked seeing this incredible work of art, you might wanna look at some genuinely inspiring art too.
