Police: Car-theft suspect made case ‘easy’ by leaving clues on cellphone

A successful criminal would apparently cover his tracks, not leave them recorded on a cellphone.

But that’s what Duluth police said Andre Harris did recently when he broke into a vehicle, Channel 2 Action News reported.

“Gwinnett County is looking for me and basically I’m on the run,” Harris, 19, allegedly said while chatting on video with a friend. They also talked about marijuana and where to get rid of a stolen car, police said.

Officers say Harris left his phone on the front seat of a car he broke into this month.

“We found searches about how to break into vehicles and then we found a search on how to break into a side window of a vehicle,” police Officer Ted Sadowski said.

MORE: Snapchat video of deadly shooting helps deputies find suspect

Harris stole the car from an apartment complex, possibly by breaking into a woman’s apartment and stealing her purse, Sadowski said.

Surveillance video showed him putting gas in the car, using cash he stole from the victim, Channel 2 reported.

Also, police said while driving the stolen car, Harris recorded videos on Instagram.

For now, he’s at large.

“I don’t think I’ve seen something this easy,” Sadowski said.

NEW: Join the discussion at the AJC's Crime & Safety Facebook group