It could be argued that when people Google themselves, they take pride in what they find, hence the term “egosurfing.”
Then there’s the case of Christopher Viatafa, who Googled his name, found a picture of himself on a “Most Wanted” website — and promptly surrendered to San Leandro police in connection with a shooting, authorities said.
Viatafa was being sought in connection with a shooting during a private party at the San Leandro Senior Center on East 14th Street on Aug. 8. Police said he got into an argument, pulled out a handgun and fired several rounds into the ground.
Viatafa was forced out of the area, police said, but not before he fired more rounds. No one was hit, but investigators sought him for allegedly discharging a firearm toward an inhabited dwelling.
Viatafa told police he had looked himself up online and found his mug on the “Northern California Most Wanted” website, maintained by the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center, a group of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
“That is why he turned himself in,” police said.
By Friday, Viatafa was listed on the website as a “captured fugitive.”
