GPS Trackers Prove To Be Valuable Crime Fighting Tools
Vernon James Hill and Stanley Eugene Hill have been accused of conspiring to rob a bank in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Vernon Hill was out of jail on bail for a separate bank robbery charge when the bank was robbed, according to court records.
An FBI affidavit filed with the federal charges stated that two men entered the bank about about 8:30am on the morning of November 5. One was carrying a small black handgun and demanded that everyone get on the ground, while the other man jumped over the teller counter and demanded money.
According to the affidavit, the two men ordered the bank employees to open the vault and put its contents in a tan bag with a knot tied in the bottom. A subsequent audit showed that over $86,000 was missing after the robbery. Unbeknownst to the robbers, a mini GPS tracker was placed “inside of the bag of loot,” the affidavit says.
Police officers were able to use the real time GPS device that was placed in the bag to track the two men to a local residence, where they were then arrested as they left the house shortly after 11 a.m., less than three hours after the heist. They were able to retrieve the tan pillowcase with a knot tied in the bottom underneath the oven, which contained more than $86,000, a GPS tracking device, and all of the bait bills the bank had listed as being stolen.
GPS Device Used to Track Suspects in Semi Truck Theft
Around 9:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, law enforcement officials followed the GPS vehicle tracker on a stolen tractor trailer from Richmond County, GA to Beech Island, SC. Two or three men were seen by Aiken County Sheriff’s Office deputies fleeing the vehicle on foot.
Deputies then called in the Aiken Bloodhound Team to search for the men. The suspects were able to lose the officers by fleeing to a swampy area, however, one of the dogs named “Duke”, equipped with a GPS collar, was able to stay with them. Duke was injured when the suspects tried to cut his collar off according to Captain Troy Elwell of the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, ”The suspects cut the collar, the GPS tracking unit, and harness off the dog. They believe that’s when the suspects cut the dog. The dog was cut around the neck area. It’s being described as an incision… a couple inches long.”
Another bloodhound located Duke, and police transported him to the vet. The other search dogs stayed on the suspects’ trail and were able to lead police to an attic in a Beech Island barn, where one of the men were hiding. Investigators say they wouldn’t have been able to find find him without the dogs. They are still searching for the other suspect