Police Use GPS Tracking to Bust Burglars in Lubbock, Texas

We know that technology items are high on the list of items that burglars like to steal – along with cash, jewelry, guns, and prescription drugs. But one thing many burglars have yet to figure out is that some high tech gadgets can be tracked, and that tracking capability can lead police straight to the burglars. In fact, that’s exactly what happened in this story, reported from Lubbock, Texas.

GPS programs in computer tablets stolen Sunday morning led Lubbock police to capture three Dallas men on multiple burglary charges. “They stole the tablets at the first business they broke into. The tablets had GPS, and that led us to them,” said Lubbock police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Stewart.

Serial Burglars

Stewart said investigators working through bank bags and stolen items in the men’s possession when they were arrested near the Pinkie’s liquor store on U.S. 87 connected them to five business burglaries Sunday. The investigation is continuing. The three men were booked into Lubbock County Detention Center on Sunday. Each was charged with five counts of burglary of a building, one count of third-degree organized crime and one count of fleeing on foot. The burglary charges are state jail felonies.

Using Technology to Track Stolen Items

This is certainly not the first time I've written on police using GPS tracking to nab intruders. One of the most notable examples was the unfortunate burglar who broke into the home of Steve Jobs’ widow and stole several Apple items that had tracking software. He was caught as well. It just doesn't seem to occur to these perps that their loot can be traced in this manner.

Get Ahead of the Criminals

Of course, it would be better if the intruders were deterred before they committed the crime in the first place: and the best way to do that is with a monitored home alarm system. We know there is much residential crime in the US where police have little recourse, and the FBI reports that a home is broken into roughly every 14 seconds: that is one scary statistic.

The good news is that FrontPoint is on the case with systems that are safer, smarter, simpler, more affordable, and virtually impossible to defeat. As the leader in wireless home security and the #1 rated alarm company in the US, FrontPoint takes residential intrusion very seriously, whether it’s the usual random offense by an amateur burglar, or one of a string of break-ins committed by the serial burglars described above. Either way, you want the odds on your side.