Facebook Nabs Thief Who Proposed With Stolen Ring

By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. on January 03, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Jewelry may be the way to some hearts, but a stolen engagement ring will just get you dumped. And stuck in jail.

Ryan Jarvis, 25, popped into a Zales jewelry store in Burlington, Vt.

on Monday and then illegally popped out with a white gold diamond ring. He then popped the question to a woman willing to say "yes."

Jarvis would have gotten away with the ruse if the woman hadn't predictably posted photos of the ring on Facebook.

Oh yes, the traditional money shot raised suspicions amongst the woman's friends, who had seen the stolen engagement ring on the news.

A few good citizens stepped up and anonymously called police, reports WCAX-TV.

When police arrived, the woman was stunned to learn that her new fiancée had stolen the $3,000 ring. But Ryan Jarvis fessed up, according to the Burlington Free Press. He told officers that he knew he didn't have the money, but took the ring anyway.

He's since been charged with one felony count of retail theft, while the woman simply had to return the ring.

Unfortunately, you can't keep stolen property -- even if you had no idea that it was stolen in the first place. The person who gave or sold it to you didn't have the legal right to transfer title. You therefore never obtained title to the stolen item.

Ryan Jarvis thus left his new fiancée without a ring. Or perhaps she's his ex-fiancée now. Wouldn't you ditch someone who gave you a stolen engagement ring?

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