The 24-year-old man allegedly robbed a bank at gunpoint in May and made off with nearly $200,000.
To solve the case, police requested the location data of everyone in a 150-meter radius of the bank within an hour of the robbery. Google complied.
As police narrowed down the suspect, they asked for more specific information, until they finally arrested their primary suspect.
Police used a relatively new and highly controversial tactic known as a "geofence warrant."
About 15 years ago, while in prison, I met a retarded Mexican who had been convicted of robbing a bank. He had just been granted relief on an appeal, and was apparently going to be given a new trial...or released. Turns out that he had been "casing the bank" in the line, but got cold feet, and decided to leave. 20 minutes later, someone else robbed the same bank, but he was arrested and identified as the robber.
How did they get the conviction? The prosecution lied about the time stamped on the video evidence, making the jury think he was guilty. His conviction was overturned when the appeals court was made aware of this prosecution subterfuge.
Jim Bell