This Laughable Police Sketch Actually Led to an Arrest
Christopher Ramos
Published Jan 10, 2026
This Hilariously Bad Police Sketch Actually Led To An Arrest
By Mustafa GatollariOct. 15 2018, Updated 7:21 p.m. ET
I'm terrible at drawing. My son asked me the other day to draw some animals for him on a piece of paper and thank God he's a toddler and is easily impressed otherwise he'd be laughing at my utter lack of any artistic skill.
Sure, I was able to get the semblance of an elephant, a lion, and a giraffe for him down on paper, but anything beyond basic shapes is way out of my league. In my defense, however, you could look at what I drew and still identify that it was an animal.
But when it comes to professional artists, like, let's say, someone who's contracted by the police to sketch up potential suspects, you'd want someone with technical acumen.
However, as it turns out, a simple sketching of a suspect was all investigators needed to eventually apprehend them.
The drawing was enough to "jog the memory" of an officer who then, based off the doodle, issued a warrant for the man's arrest. I have to say, if I'm this dude's lawyer, this picture's probably the first thing I'm going to hold up in court.
Yes, this is the sketch that was used in order to place Hung Phuoc Nguyen under arrest. Nguyen allegedly stole cash from a market stand in Lancaster County, PA.
Here's what Nguyen looks like.
Amateur sketch from witness helps Pa. police identify theft suspect
— CBS News (@CBSNews) February 9, 2018
Yes, a striking resemblance.
Even the Lancaster PD admit that the drawing was "cartoonish" but as far as they are concerned it got the job done.
"While the sketch provided by the witness may have appeared amateurish and cartoonish, it, along with the distinctive physical descriptors, jogged the memory of at least one investigator to provide a potential suspect name."
Twitter couldn't stop laughing at the drawing.
officer looks at doodle.
— Jason Alexander (@SonOfADooG) February 9, 2018
officer looks at suspect.
officer looks at doodle.
officer looks at suspect, squinting.
officer looks at doodle.
"yup this is him."
It's bringing so many people joy.
I need a Netflix series on the witness that did the sketch. I’m also looking into getting put in The Louvre.
— Allie Mac Kay (@alliemackay) February 9, 2018
People are seriously impressed with the officer's ability to pick out the suspect based off of such a rudimentary drawing.
The witness? It's the police officer who identified the suspect from the sketch who deserves a medal!
— Resonance (@ResonanceGlobal) February 9, 2018
sometimes the universe makes me very very happy
— shauna (@goldengateblond) February 9, 2018
Everyone had jokes.
— Jonmauricecurry (@Jonmauricecurry) February 9, 2018
The etch a sketch was probably broken at the time..
— Brian gourlay (@BrianGourlay_) February 9, 2018
Some were punnier than others.
Law & Order: Special Doodle Unit
— Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA) February 9, 2018
Others made astute connections.
Somewhere, @jason_mraz: “Whew.”
— Dane (@SeeDaneRun) February 9, 2018
While others were actually impressed with the simple sketch's ability to capture the essence of the victim and strip it down.
To be fair, it does look like him.
— Emma (@AbilityDrain) February 9, 2018
But there are some classics that must be mentioned when we're discussing silly sketches.
Still the best.
— Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) February 9, 2018
— Osten (@OstenDowning) February 9, 2018
I do think that Nguyen's likeness is a worthy addition to the collection, however.