Camera phones can be the crime fighting tools - 1 October, 2004

Robbery suspect caught thanks to a quick thinking citizen with a camera phone.

Nashville police were able to catch a robber within minutes after a robbery victim used a camera cell phone to snap a mug shot of the criminal as well as the getaway vehicle.

The crime occurred at a car wash when the victim, Ismael Miranda, was cleaning his limousine. A man, later identified as James Robert Barker approached Miranda with a knife and demanded money, says Halifax Live.

According to the USA Today, the best thing, police said, is the camera phone snapshot of Baker fleeing helped police nab the man within minutes.

"I don't think camera phones were made with the intent of being crime fighting tools, but they can certainly be just that," Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said. "There are a lot more cameras in the pockets of Americans now with camera phones."

Barker chased Miranda, threw a garbage can at him and fled. But not before an alert Miranda snapped a photo of Barker and his getaway truck using a camera phone, police said.