Teen charged after 'Drivin drunk' online post

By STEVEN DUBOIS
OF the Associated Press

ASTORIA — Jacob Cox-Brown might want to adjust his Facebook privacy settings.

Police in the coastal city of Astoria, Ore., arrested the teenager after he allegedly confessed via Facebook that he had been driving drunk on New Year's Eve and hit someone's car.

Deputy Chief Brad Johnston said Thursday that officers were investigating a hit and run involving a sideswiped car that sustained significant damage — a second car was also hit — when two Facebook friends of Cox-Brown contacted authorities, reporting a Facebook post in which the 18-year-old wrote: “Drivin drunk ... classsic ;) but to whoever's vehicle i hit i am sorry. :P”

One of his friends sent a Facebook message to an Astoria police officer; the other called the station, Johnston said. Officers went to Cox-Brown's house and found a vehicle that matched the damage done to the two vehicles. Police also connected pieces from the crash scene to the vehicle registered to Cox-Brown.

“He denied it initially, and it wasn't until he was confronted with overwhelming evidence that he finally admitted to it,” Johnston said.

Cox-Brown, who has more than 650 Facebook friends, did not immediately respond to a Facebook message seeking comment. He does not have a phone number listed in his name.

Cox-Brown was charged with failure to perform the duties of a driver. He was booked into the Clastsop County Jail and released on his own recognizance. He avoided a charge of drunken driving because he was interviewed hours after the incident and the Facebook post is not sufficient evidence that he was intoxicated.

“We can't just convict somebody based on the fact that they said they were drunk,” Johnston said.

Johnston said the department is fairly active in social media and it has been useful in several cases. He added that the takeaway from this case is not that people should be careful about what they post on Facebook: “No, the message is stop and contact people when you run into their cars.”