GPS Tracking

Ohio Appeals Court Calls for Evidence Obtained by Unwarranted GPS Tracking Device to be Suppressed

Two men, who were convicted of breaking into a Baltimore home and shooting the owner’s dog in 2010 may potentially have their cases dismissed in light of a Ohio Supreme Court ruling. As a result of the decision, a local judge in Ohio must now decide whether to allow crucial evidence obtained from an unwarranted GPS tracking device in the cases to be heard. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the unwarranted use of GPS trackers violated an person’s reasonable expectation of privacy as granted by the Fourth Amendment.

Fairfield County Prosecutor Gregg Marx had asked the Ohio Supreme Court to review the 2-to-1 decision by the Court of Appeals that evidence obtained from a GPS tracking device should be suppressed. Franklin County detectives installed the tracking device on the suspect’s car without first obtaining a warrant or court order.

(more…)

_{»crosslinked«}

Third Brother Accused in One of the Biggest Bank Heists in Tulsa History

A federal grand jury in Tulsa, Okla, has charged an additional defendant, Dejuan L. Hill, 23, of taking part in the November 5 armed robbery of an Arvest Bank, during which nearly $87,000 was taken - one of the largest bank robberies in recent Oklahoma history

His brother, Vernon James Hill, 26, was found guilty in Tulsa federal court earlier this year for taking part in the bank heist. The same jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of another brother, 24-year-old Stanley Eugene Hill.

Dejuan Hill reportedly was in the gallery in the Page Belcher Federal Building during his brothers’ trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel-lyn McCormick said Wednesday that further analysis of the evidence, including cell phone records, led the prosecution to believe that Dejuan Hill was actually the second man in the bank along with Vernon Hill and that Stanley Hill acted as the getaway driver. McCormick said a warrant has been issued for Dejuan Hill’s arrest.

(more…)

A Growing Epidemic

Prescription drug abuse is becoming an increasing threat for the state of Maine. Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey said he first noticed the beginnings of the epidemic about a decade ago. Even those arrested by his department for illicit drug offenses were found carrying prescription drugs with them.

“It seemed every time we’d arrest someone, they had prescription drugs on them,” Massey said.

Waterville’s first pharmacy robbery for the specific purpose of acquiring prescription drugs was in 2010. Since then, the city has had two more robberies. ”It’s all they want – ‘Give me the drugs,’” he said.

The robberies seemed to be escalating around the state. Since last August, there have been 12 pharmacy robberies, according to published reports. Over that time period, two Augusta pharmacies have each been hit twice by robbers demanding prescription drugs. The most recent robbery occurred this past Tuesday night at the CVS Pharmacy.

(more…)

High-Tech Way to Track Water Flow Along the Delta 

Researchers from UC Berkeley spent the day (Wednesday, May 9) tossing dozens of high-tech cylinders into the Sacramento River in order to gather data on water flow. The smartphone-equipped floating robots demonstrated the next generation of water monitoring technology, promising to transform the way government agencies monitor one of the state’s most precious resources.

The Floating Sensor Network project, led by associate professor Alexandre Bayen, a researcher at the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS), has developed a network of mobile sensors that can be deployed rapidly to provide real-time, high-resolution GPS location data in hard-to-map Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, with its complex network of channels that direct drinking water to two-thirds of California’s population and irrigation water for 3 million acres of agriculture. The robotic cylinders can also provide valuable information on pollution, salinity and other variables.

(more…)

GPS Tracking Device Used to Track Down Weapons Smugglers

An 18-year-old man could potentially face up to 20 years in prison for attempting to smuggle firearms and ammunition from North Carolina to Mexico. Law enforcement officials were able to stop Javier Molina on Interstate 10 in Jackson County, Mississippi, after determining his location with a GPS tracker that they fitted onto the black pickup truck that he was driving.

According to court records, police found 22 weapons, 902 rounds of ammunition, 16 magazines, five shotgun barrels, six gun stocks, four 12-gauge barrels and two scopes stashed in the truck.

Court documents show that a Homeland Security Investigations agent had been tracking the 1994 Ford Ranger since Molina’s uncle, Jose Luis Santos-Garcia, had been pulled over in the same pickup truck a couple of months prior to the incident in Jackson County. Santos-Garcia has been charged with attempting to smuggle two pistols, three bullet-proof vests and two stolen four-wheelers to Mexico.

(more…)

DOJ Claims that Warranted Cell Phone Tracking Would Hinder Its Efforts

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement officials would be required to obtain an official court-issued warrant before attaching a GPS tracking device on a suspect’s vehicle. This decision came in response to a case involving a Washington, D.C. night club owner who was initially convicted of drug dealing. The initial ruling, however, was later overturned in an appellate court after it determined that the prolonged unwarranted use of the GPS tracking device that law enforcement officials placed on the suspect’s Jeep even though the evidence obtained from the GPS tracker clearly indicated he was involved in illegal narcotics distribution.

The controversial case made its way to the Supreme Court, where all 9 Justices unanimously agreed that the suspect’s Constitutional right to privacy, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, were violated. Privacy advocates praised the decision as a huge win for individual rights. However, law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, found the ruling to be a significant obstacle for investigative and surveillance purposes.

(more…)

Patient is Reported Missing in Nova Scotia and Could Pose a Threat to Herself and the Public

Amy Ogilvie, a patient at the East Coast Forensic Hospital in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia (Canada), went missing on Friday night after having been out on a pass. She was scheduled to return to the hospital on Friday evening, but did not show up, and doctors are concerned that Ogilvie may pose a threat to herself and others while away from treatment.

The hospital, however, did not notify the public until 72 hours after she was discovered missing. According to hospital director Dr. Scott Theriault, “The hospital protocol is that we notify the public after 72 hours. That is a balance we strike because on the one hand, most of the patients return long before that period of time.”

(more…)

“Gift Wrapping” Your Car

All of us have done this before: we make a quick pit stop at the gas station or a road-side convenience store, or to drop something off while leaving our car engines running. We tell ourselves, “It’ll just take a few seconds, so no need to go through the hassle of turn the car off…” And so we quickly bolt out of our cars with the keys in the ignition, engine running and doors unlocked to quickly take care of whatever it is that we need to, thinking that our cars are safe and that no one will take our cars.

But then we come back only to find that our cars gone. In what seemed to be just a matter of seconds, someone has stolen our cars. And although the truth of the matter is that a terrible crime has been committed, the reality is, we “gift-wrapped” our cars when we chose to leave it unattended with the engine running and the doors unlocked.

(more…)

Balloons Equipped with GPS Tracking Devices Looking to Provide Some “Good News”

Recently, North Korea has been receiving a lot of attention here in the United States due to their aggressive stance on developing and testing nuclear weapons. The country’s long-standing and iconic dictator, Kim Jong-il has been known to threaten South Korean and the US on numerous occasions with long-range nuclear missiles. And in doing so, he placed the North in an extremely hostile position against the rest of the world.

And now with the passing of Kim Jong-il in December of 2011 and the recent succession of his son, Kim Jong-un, many thought that this would be an opportunity to bring about some political resolution and peace between North Korea and the rest of the world. However, with the events that have occurred during the past couple of months, it looks like Kim Jong-un has adopted his father’s political philosophy and ideology.

(more…)

Solid Signal Takes the SilverCloud Out for a Test-Drive

Solid Signal is an online retailer that specializes in providing high-quality, name-brand, digital audio and video equipment, as well as relevant and informative product research and guidance to professional media installers and tech-savvy consumers. Essentially, Solid Signal does the hard work of researching and testing out various consumer products to help customers determine which ones work best for them. They also provide sound advice on what equipment is needed for optimum audio and video performance.

Recently, Stuart Sweet from Solid Signal tested one of LandAirSea’s SilverCloud real-time GPS tracking systems, and wrote a 4-part series describing the various features offered by the SilverCloud system and to help consumers an in-depth look at what it has to offer. And after taking the device out for a test-drive by attaching it to a friend’s car, here are some of the things he had to say about the SilverCloud GPS tracking system:

(more…)