27-year-old Palo Alto man Christopher Viatafa turned himself in to authorities last Friday after a Google search for his own name turned up NorthernCaliforniaMostWanted.org as the first result. The system works.

Viatafa was wanted in San Leandro for firing off a handgun at a senior center. During a party at the center on August 8th of last year, Viatafa reportedly got in an argument, pulled out the weapon and fired several rounds into the ground. He left the area before police could make an arrest, but he was wanted for discharging a weapon toward an inhabited dwelling. After his mughshot turned up during his vanity googling session last week, Viatafa turned himself in and was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

NorthernCaliforniaMostWanted.com is a joint effort of the U.S. Marshals, the FBI and other Bay Area police agencies. It launched in late 2013 to provide an online, but still thrillingly old-school, alternative to Wanted posters and John Walsh.

[Mercury News]
[Chron]