Elena Gocmen Rueda
JUST days after expats were asked to keep an eye out for British fugitives thought to be on the run in Spain, the mugshot of a criminal hunted by UK police went viral in Spain… for an entirely different reason.
West Yorkshire Police issued an appeal for convicted thief, Jonathan Cahill, after he broke the conditions of his parole.
“Police are appealing for information about Jonathan Cahill, who is wanted on recall to prison,” the statement from West Yorkshire Police explained.
“Cahill, 37, was released from prison last September after serving part of a sentence for burglary. He is believed to have breached the terms of his release and has now been recalled to prison.
“Officers are continuing enquiries to locate Cahill, who is described as being of medium build and approximately six feet tall. He is believed to be currently residing in Wakefield.
The appeal soon went viral as it was shared tens of thousands of times, not because the public were keen to bring the criminal to justice, but because of his filmstar appearance.
The mugshot showing his smokey grey eyes, chiseled jaw and designer stubble were met with a barrage of bawdy comments.
‘What’s his crime, breaking hearts or houses?’, ‘If I find him, can I keep him?’, ‘I have handcuffs’, ‘I mean he has committed a crime.. but dang!!’.
He was quickly branded a ‘fit felon’ or ‘criminally hot’, with some on social media describing him as ‘the Jeremy Meeks of Wakefield’.
The story was soon picked up by Spanish media appearing on Telecinco, Antena 3, 20minutos and Marca, among others.
However, his legion of fans will be disappointed to discover that he never made it as far as Spain and was arrested on Tuesday, February 1 in Wakefield.
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