TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas teenager posted a video on social media showing the setting of a blaze that heavily damaged a Topeka mall in December, a court affidavit shows.
A tip to provided the next day to Crime Stoppers led investigators to the video posted on Snapchat, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.
Joel Sink, 18, and two other youths face charges that include arson tied to the Dec. 29 fire that caused an estimated $100,000 in damage at the former White Lakes Mall in Topeka.
The charging affidavit included two images from the video taken of the fire soon after it was set. The video had been posted by a Snapchat user later identified as Sink, the affidavit said.
Snapchat is a a messaging service in which users send each other texts, photos or videos that are usually scheduled to disappear after a few seconds.