GPS Feature on Stolen Smartphone Leads Cops to Thief
GPS Feature on Stolen Smartphone Leads Cops to Thief
A Florida man’s smartphone lived up to its name when it was stolen, by attracting authorities to it like a beacon.
The GPS tracking and navigation application the owner opted to buy led police to the handheld phone and the thief, much like a scavenger hunt.
Troyer called police to report that his phone was once again stolen from inside his truck overnight. He unfortunately had forgotten to lock it when he retired. Someone made off with two cell phones and two chargers from his truck; and a gun, a digital camera and a set of binoculars from a vehicle next door.
The iPhone had real-time GPS tracking. “I thought I might get a general location by checking the computer, provided the phone was still turned on,” said Troyer.
Sure enough, the phone was receiving GPS tracking coordinates from satellites, and it was throwing a signal. The computer mapping program Google Earth showed the phone about 15 miles away in the town of LaBelle. Local police summoned deputies from Hendry County and the posse grew.
The cell phone application could not pinpoint exactly where the cell phone was located, but the search was narrowed down to an area that included four houses. The range was good enough that the culprit was found through a little process of elimination. Police knocked on doors and interviewed residents. A man at one of the homes, Eddie Deleon played innocent, but eventually got fingered by the phone.
While the police were talking to Deleon, Troyer, the phone’s owner, was asked to call the number. There, on a table next to Deleon, an iPhone started ringing. They tried the trick once more to eliminate coincidence and the result was the same.
Finally Deleon started talking. He said he bought the phone hot off the street from a stranger. But he also allowed police to search his home which turned out to be his downfall. There, authorities found a camera, binoculars and two cell phone chargers that fit the theft victims’ descriptions.
Deleon was charged with grand theft and car burglary.
GPS Expert Note: LandAirSea Systems Vice President of Sales Steven Moehling, who has been called upon in media interviews and court cases as a GPS expert, points out that, while the smartphone GPS tracking worked quite successfully in this case, is not as accurate as a standalone on-board GPS tracking system designed exclusively for the purpose of tracking, such as the Victoria GPS tracking system, made by LandAirSea Systems. The smartphone offered a location range of about four homes, or roughly one-eighth mile. LandAirSea vehicle tracking systems boast a position reading within six feet of accuracy; and give updates much more frequently: every second, or 10 seconds, depending on the vehicle tracking model.
Source: WCBD-TV Channel 2 Charleston, SC
Tags: Eddie Deleon, GPS Expert, GPS Tracking, iphone, Smartphone, stolen, Troyer
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