(Facebook/Stockton Police Department)
A man arrested on weapons and gang charges became famous overnight when his sexy mugshot went viral. Women all over America have liked, tweeted and lusted over Jeremy Meeks’ chiseled cheeks and Paul Walker eyes, saying the tear-drop-tattooed heartthrob should be in movies and not in jail.
Here’s what you should know about the alleged gangster who could pass for a model.
1. His Arrest Photo Has More Than 87,000 Likes & 18,000 Comments
As of Friday morning, Meeks’ dreamy mugshot had topped 62,000 likes on the Stockton Police Department Facebook page.
The comments on Meeks’ photo mainly come from women swooning over his baby blues. Check them all out here.
Adding to the mania are the many Jeremy Mekes memes making the rounds.
Stockton Police Officer Joseph Silva admitted that Stockton police had not received this much positive attention since creating their Facebook page in 2012. “I have not seen that many likes for a photo before,” he said. Other posts they have uploaded have received at most a few hundred likes, sadly, including a recent tribute to a fallen officer.
2. Cops Say He’s One of the Most Violent Criminals in the Area
(Screenshot/California Open Reports)
Officer Silva told the Associated Press Meeks is one of the most violent criminals in the Stockton area.
Cops declined to reveal any information on Meeks’ past charges.
Meeks was one of four men arrested on Wednesday in a multi-agency enforcement mission called Operation Ceasefire.
The aim of the mission was to prevent shootings and robberies in the Weston Ranch area of Stockton, California, by confiscating firearms from different gang units.
Meeks will be arraigned Friday afternoon. He’s held on $900,000 bail.
3. Tear-Drop Tattoos Commonly Represent Murder
Meeks told USA Today he spent time in prison for grand theft, and the teardrop tattoo on his cheek is for “something he’s not proud of.”
The most widely accepted meaning of the teardrop is the wearer has killed someone — this is reported to have originated among the Chicano gangs of California.
4. He’s a Husband & Father & ‘Not Some Kingpin’
(Facebook/Jeremy R Meeks)
USA Today visited Meeks in jail and reported that when he saw his wife, she told him he was blowing up all over Facebook.
“I just want them to know that this is really not like me, I’m not some kingpin,” he said.
(Facebook/Jeremy R Meeks)
5. His Mom’s ‘Free Jeremy’ Campaign Has Raised Over Two Thousand Dollars
Meeks’ mother, Katherine Angier, created a GoFundMe page to help pay for her son’s bail. So far, the campaign has raised $2,400-plus with a goal of $25,000.
Angier describes her son as a working father, and under a photo of Meeks holding the boy writes:
He has a job and … He was on his way to work. With no gang affiliations as per two of the charges. He has old tattoos..which causes him to be sterotyped. He’s my son and he is so sweet. Please help him to get a fair trial or else he’ll be railroaded.
Angier’s page has been shared 1,400-plus times on Facebook but is littered with criticism about Jeremy and his criminal past.
Justin Knoll writes:
I do not care who you are and I sure as hell won’t shut the f*ck up loser. Your whole family obv is for condoning this kinda behavior out of a 30 year old. You should be ashamed to even use this site for something like this. Disgusting. And of coarse the media blew his story out of proportion bc he somebody that means anything to anyone besides his family. It’s not like he’s some athlete and they want to make a interesting story about it.
The largest donation, $100, comes from a woman looking for a return on her investment:
Hit me up when u get out daddy, I got a list of naughty things I wanna do to you .. [phone number].