Ubiñas: Twitter Justice League to the rescue

THEY WEREN'T wearing badges or capes, but in just a matter of hours, anonymous Twitter detective @FanSince09, aided by a group of social-media sleuths that included a former star of "Real Housewives of New Jersey," managed to restore our faith in humanity and the Internet.

For that, this Twitter Justice League deserves keys to the city. Or at least some superhero-grade capes.

"Awesome work with the police on identifying the assailants," tweeted a user named Lisa McGrath. "Faith in humanity lives another day."

Like most superpowers, the Internet can be used for good and evil. Oh, who am I kidding? Some days it feels as if it's only used for evil: cyberbullying, racial and sexual harassment, irresponsible or incorrect information. Remember the Brown University student who was falsely accused of being a Boston Marathon bomber?

But Tuesday night, something else happened. A popular, if profane, Twitter user who previously hunted racist sports trolls went hunting for something else: crowdsourced justice in last Thursday's brutal assault on two gay men in Center City.

I'd call it what it truly was: a hate crime. But Pennsylvania law has no provision to charge a hate crime based on sexual orientation.

"The current law for ethnic intimidation, a/k/a a 'hate crime,' in the commonwealth states: 'In order for ethnic intimidation to be charged, the malicious intention toward the religion, ethnicity or race of the victim must be the motive for the commission of the underlying crime,' " said Tasha Jamerson, spokeswoman for District Attorney Seth Williams. "So, no, we would not be able to charge with ethnic intimidation in this case."

In this case, a 28-year-old man and a 27-year-old man bumped against someone in a large group walking down Chancellor Street near 16th. One of the group members asked if they were boyfriends.

The couple, together for six years, were then beaten in front of horrified onlookers. After the attack, laced with homophobic taunts, the men were taken to Hahnemann University Hospital. One suffered severe facial fractures. A longtime friend of the victims, Caryn Kunkle, said his jaw will be wired shut for months.

The social-media manhunt began shortly after police released surveillance video that showed what cops described as "a group of 15 white males and females in their early 20s, clean-cut and well-dressed."

@FanSince09 - who identifies himself in his Twitter bio as "Hero to some, Villain to others and Douche leader of Phillies twitter to one dude" - went to work.

He tweeted the video and rallied his thousands of followers.

"Seriously it's 15 people someone knows someone who knows someone."

Another Twitter user named @greggybennett, of "Real Housewives" fame, tweeted out a photo allegedly showing the same suspects at a restaurant.

Internet sleuths then dug up the name of the restaurant - La Viola West, an Italian place on 16th Street near Latimer - while @FanSince09 and others cross-referenced the pictures and info.

All the while, @FanSince09 said yesterday between local and national interviews, he was communicating with Philly Police Officer Joe Murray, who is a friend and fellow Twitter user - which is an important part of what happened Tuesday night.

This call for justice could have veered into cyber-vigilantism. But it didn't because of the relationship between @FanSince09 and Murray, because @FanSince09 didn't use names and because he urged people to do the same. He sent all tips and tipsters to police. And when he was satisfied that the potential suspects had been identified - "We found 'em," he tweeted - he stepped back and let the cops continue their work.

In short: He did it right.

Officer Murray tweeted his thanks: "This is what makes my job easy. Sure, it's up to me to make the arrest but we are all in this together."

No arrests had been reported as of last night, but police sources told the Daily News that at least a few of the alleged assailants had been interviewed by detectives.

So is this the new way of policing? Digital experts say yes and point to numerous law-enforcement agencies that are using social media as part of investigations.

"There is an extraordinary amount of information online about all of us, put there by all of us on social media for the world to see," said Marie Shanahan, an assistant journalism professor at the University of Connecticut who tracks trends in digital communication and online news.

The lesson, she said, is simple: "If you plan on acting like a jerk offline, don't leave a trail of bread crumbs online. It ruins your alibi."

Philadelphia Police Sgt. Eric Gripp, who manages social and digital media for the department, said social media have helped in more cases than he can count. But this case was different in how publicly it played out.

What happened Tuesday night shows the power of social media, he said, but it also shows the power of giving a damn.

"It's not 'snitching' or tattling," he said. "It's people refusing to Philly Shrug awful behavior."

Meanwhile, @Fansince09 has gained newfound fame and fans, including the two men who are slowly recovering from the brutal attack.

"They were watching it all unfold online and were so excited to see so many people trying to help," said their friend Kunkle. "It was just amazing."

- Staff writers Vinny Vella and Morgan Zalot contributed to this report.

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On Twitter: @NotesFromHel