Abdulah Husseni, 36, failed to appear in court Tuesday to face charges of theft and fraud, prompting a district judge in Blackpool, England, to issue a warrant for his arrest.
An alleged thief whose uncanny resemblance to "Friends" actor David Schwimmer went viral is a wanted man after he failed to show up to court, officials said.
Abdulah Husseni, 36, failed to appear in court Tuesday to face charges of theft and fraud, prompting a district judge in Blackpool, England, to issue a warrant for his arrest, the Guardian reported.
Husseni is accused of stealing a jacket, mobile phone and wallet.
In October, police released an image on social media asking for help identifying a suspected thief, writing: “Do you recognize this man? We want to speak to him in relation to a theft at a Blackpool restaurant on the 20th September.”
In the image, the man can be seen carrying a carton of beer cans and appears to look straight at the camera. The photo immediately went viral, as people quipped about the man’s striking resemblance to Schwimmer, who played Ross on “Friends.”
"Lay off him. He grew up with Monica. IF YOU DIDNT EAT FAST YOU DIDNT EAT," one person wrote.
"The One Where Ross Became a Thief," one commenter joked.
“I bet he was shouting ‘PIVOT’ as he picked those beers up,” another person wrote.
Authorities eventually assured the public that Schwimmer was not, in fact, responsible for the alleged theft. But even Schwimmer himself got in on the joke.
He tweeted a statement saying he was in New York at the time of the alleged crime, writing, “Officers, I swear it wasn’t me. As you can see, I was in New York.”
Schwimmer shared a video in which he copied his doppelganger’s moves and gaze at the camera. “To the hardworking Blackpool police, good luck with the investigation,” he wrote.
Police say the man in the image was actually Husseni. He was arrested in Southall in November. When he didn’t appear at a court hearing at 9:30 a.m., District Judge Jane Goodwin issued an arrest warrant.
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