Lancashire police recently thanked David Schwimmer – Ross from the popular US sitcom “Friends” – for his support in their search for a suspected thief who stole a mobile phone, wallet and jacket in Blackpool. Their light-hearted gratitude follows the viral CCTV footage that was posted by them of the thief and the resemblance was certainly striking. That thief has now been identified and he was arrested on suspicion of theft in Southall in west London on Monday evening.

Ross lookalike caught on CCTV

The original investigation related to a theft from a restaurant in Blackpool on September 20 this year.

When Lancashire police originally posted a CCTV image of a suspect in a theft, people on social media immediately noted the resemblance to David Schwimmer of “Friends” fame.

Following the initial post, Schwimmer hilariously posted his own video, showing him “stealing” beer in a New York supermarket to prove his innocence in the Blackpool Crime, adding that as they could see, he was in New York at the time. He then went on to wish the hardworking Blackpool Police luck with their investigation. He ended his tweet with the hashtag #itwasntme.

As noted by the Guardian at the time the Lancashire police went on social media record as thanking everyone who responded to their post about the theft, saying they had investigated thoroughly and could confirm that Schwimmer was in the USA at the time of the crime.

Arrest made in lookalike theft

The fact that his image had gone viral on social media must have been a little difficult for the thief. Literally, thousands of people had seen and responded to the issue on social media. It seems that the viral posts may have been helpful to the police in tracking down their man. The 36-year-old, unnamed suspect was taken into custody on suspicion of theft on Monday night in Southall, west London.

Blackpool police made a statement to say regarding their appeal for a man who strongly resembles a “well-known actor” from the US sitcom “Friends,” they now have an update. They went on to thank their colleagues in the Metropolitan police for arresting the 36-year-old suspect. Their statement also thanked everyone who had responded to their appeal, giving a special thanks to Schwimmer, who they said saw the funny side of the whole thing.

As reported by the BBC, the Metropolitan police responded tongue-in-cheek to their tweet, including a hashtag reference to the theme song “I’ll Be There For You” from “Friends.”
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