How did the police gain access to Melvin Colon’s Facebook profile?

We leave small clues about our lives all over the Internet like fingerprints. Take Melvin Colon, who is facing charges of murder, along with weapons and narcotics-related crimes. The suspected New York gang member posted public photos on Facebook that showed him flashing gang signs but made private more incriminating posts, including references to past violent crimes and threats against others.(9)Unfortunately for Colon, one of his Facebook friends agreed to give police access to Colon’s "private" information, and on August 10, a federal judge ruled Colon lost all claims to privacy when he shared those details with friends. "Colon’s legitimate expectation of privacy ended when he disseminated posts to his ’friends’ because those ’friends’ were free to use the information however they wanted—including sharing it with the government," the judge wrote.
    Leveraging Facebook is just one of many ways law enforcement officials are gleaning evidence from social media to help them solve crimes.(10)Police look at what information is public and sometimes create fake online identities to befriend suspects and view their private information. Authorities also can request private data directly from social networks with subpoenas or warrants, or make an emergency request for user information if they think there’s an imminent threat of danger.