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Philly-Area Transit Police Chief's Amnesty Tweet Gets Result

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The chief of the Philadelphia area's transit police says a thief took him up on his Twitter offer of amnesty and has returned a stolen phone.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority police Chief Thomas Nestel says a passenger forgot his cellphone at a subway station Nov. 22, and surveillance video showed a young woman picking it up.

The chief was concerned that the phone wouldn't be recovered if the woman was arrested.

So instead of using the video to identify and charge her, Nestel took to Twitter, offering amnesty if the phone was returned by Dec. 4. On Friday, the 19-year-old Philadelphia woman returned it.

The chief responded to naysayers by tweeting, "This can help vic get phone back and give young woman who made bad choice a chance to make it right."

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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