Viral mug shot man released from prison
Jeremy Meeks, 31, a convicted felon, was arrested on five weapons charges and one gang charge, according to Officer Joseph Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A handsome mug shot of a Northern California man arrested on felony weapons charges has gone viral on social media, attracting more than 33,000 "likes" and drawing comments praising his high cheek bones, chiseled face and striking blue eyes. Now the newly released felon has gained opportunities from his unusual viral stardom.
Jeremy Meeks, 31, a convicted felon, was arrested on five weapons charges and one gang charge, according to Officer Joseph Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department.
No previous arrest photo has garnered so much positive attention since the department set up the Facebook page in March 2012, Silva told The Associated Press.
"I have not seen that many likes for a photo before," he said.
Meeks' arrest photo had garnered more than 33,000 "likes," and 10,400 comments, and had been shared more than 3,300 times.
Other postings on the site generally receive hundreds of "likes."
Meeks was one of four men taken into custody during Operation Ceasefire, a multiagency mission to curb a recent increase in shootings and robberies in the Weston Ranch area of Stockton, a Northern California city of about 300,000 nestled amid the network of waterways that form the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
Four firearms were confiscated during a sweep involving the Stockton police gang unit, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Task Force and other agencies.
Silva called Meeks "one of the most violent criminals in the Stockton area," though he declined to provide any details on the crimes that Meeks is believed to have been involved in.
The married father of three is starting to put the pieces of his modeling career together, his agent Jim Jordan told BuzzFeed News.
Before he entered the Mendota Federal Correctional Institution, he already signed with two Hollywood agents and had his sights set on a reality TV deal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.