Thieves jack 14 GPS devices, forget to turn them off

Yeah, we've seen quite a bit of mishaps happen in conjunction with operating a GPS device, and the list of brainless criminals is (fortunately) seeming to get longer each day, but this heist made the cops' jobs so easy it's almost implausible. A few crooks with a potentially bright idea set out to swipe a dozen or so cellphones from the Town of Babylon Public Works garage in Lindenhurst, NY, but unfortunately for them, the 14 units they swiped turned out to be GPS devices. As expected, Suffolk County police didn't have any qualms tracking the bandits down, and actually found the head criminal holding one of their prizes when they entered his home, as he was presumably trying to call his mother (or partners in crime) and explain all he'd accomplished. Nevertheless, the father and his 13-year old son, along with another 20-year old culprit, were all taken in on charges of grand larceny and stupidity, but at least justice prevailed, eh?

[Via Fark]

[nathan @ Jan 20th 2007 7:15PM]

this is what i call idiot >_

[jason @ Jan 20th 2007 7:28PM]

hey i grew up in suffolk county...haha

[Flying? @ Jan 20th 2007 7:31PM]

I always thought standard GPS devices were unable to be located, because of the fact that they were unable to send data, that they only could receive information ... I guess I was wrong ...

[dragon @ Jan 20th 2007 7:41PM]

As far as i know standard GPS devices can't be located, however it does say these devices where GPS enabled phones which means they could have sent the data back via the cell network.

[Mark @ Jan 20th 2007 7:42PM]

They weren't standard gps devices, they were cell phones with gps in them.

[Flying? @ Jan 20th 2007 7:47PM]

My bad, I didn't read properly the article: because of its name, I thought that the GPS feature made the thieves being located ...

[jason @ Jan 20th 2007 7:44PM]

hahahahaha thats funny

[ron @ Jan 20th 2007 7:49PM]

Actually if you re-read the sentence, it does not say that the cell phones were GPS-enabled, it says they planned on swiping cell phones but swiped GPS devices. Let's hope it was suppose to read "GPS-enabled cell phones".

[dragon @ Jan 20th 2007 8:09PM]

so it does.... well thats a tad confusing?

so where they GPS devices or GPS equipped cellphones then?

Because as Flying said i thought GPS devices where recieve only so couldnt pass back their location.

[Andrew Bogan @ Jan 28th 2007 10:51AM]

lol thats fantastic i live a block away from where that happend i swear lindenhurst ppl dont think at all before they act

[2Perfect @ Jan 20th 2007 8:39PM]

that's nice.

Probably a 1-hour planning kinda theft lol. Otherwise they would at least figured out where their target units are located =/ lol

[Samuel Wat @ Jan 20th 2007 9:12PM]

How stupid!
i mean idiot
omfg

[mck @ Jan 20th 2007 9:15PM]

I feel bad for the young one, otherwise, morons.

[poxtomod @ Jan 20th 2007 10:07PM]

I live near a Chrysler plant and there was an employee who stole about twenty or so Gps/stereo head units that should have gone into Pacificas, but didn't. He then went on to "graciously" sell these said devices to fellow employees. What a nice guy, especially at $500, way less than $2000 sticker price that Chrysler wanted. A real Robin Hood you might say.

After Chrysler notified the police they set up an interesting sting. The cops waited till the following Monday for the units to be installed and switched on, then simply parked a few cops at the Chrysler plant. Ten or so were caught but the next shift was alerted. in the end no one but the original thief was arrested. Yes that right these guys rolled over onto the seller, I guess its true crime doesn't pay.

[jack @ Jan 20th 2007 11:36PM]

Yeah Thats crap,
I meen its great that they got caught because they where thieves but I hate the surveillance grid of control that big cooperations and governments are setting up.

What happens in the future when you speed to overtake a car to avoid an accident and you then get a speeding fine in the mail because of a gps.

The law books are very very thick, every one does something small but illegal almost every day. and when or if a fascist gov that is using the war on terror to legitimize the destruction of our liberties as a free society comes into power we will be spewing.

[Bobby @ Jan 20th 2007 11:16PM]

They were GPS enabled cell phones.

[Austin @ Jan 20th 2007 11:36PM]

No, if you read the original article they were gps devices that were to be installed in snowplows and work trucks. Or something to that effect. Not cellphones. The people thought they were cell phones when they stole them.

I got in trouble for stealing a calculator when i was in jr. high, you know, when it was cool to steal stuff. Though i am not certain if it was ever cool to steal a calculator. These guys arent cool

[kris @ Jan 21st 2007 12:43AM]

lol, i live in the town of babylon, lindenhurst is just a few miles away ...lol

[David Falcones @ Jan 21st 2007 1:22AM]

hahaha i live like 5 blocks away from there and the stupidity of those crooks does not surprise me

[tinyhands @ Jan 22nd 2007 11:07AM]

"Suffolk County police didn't have any qualms tracking the bandits down"

Why would the police have qualms about doing their job? You thought they might not be sure if they should or not?

[q can fix it @ Jan 23rd 2007 2:17PM]

did they even know what GPS is? Why would they steal something like that without knowing what it is and what it was capable of? a smart lawyer would make a good case for inherited kleptomania out of this

[rurikbloodaxe @ Jan 24th 2007 7:21AM]

Get smart people... it's just the beginning. Your cell phones send out signals that you can't turn off, so anyone with access to the signal can watch you, and watch you, and watch you, every move, everywhere you go, patterns of driving, visits to your friends, on vacations, to the stores you shop at... and once the government has the power to access this information... any government -- democratic, republican, independent, dicatorship, fascist, whatever... you're screwed. SO you think GPS signals are great, for "emergencies" and such, but they DO put out a traceable signal because they're receiving a transmitted signal that can be followed. Abuse of power, control of the masses, we're all suckers.

Look who's the president of the U.S., and how he respects the Constitution and Bill of Rights... to protect us all from government intrusion...

Think about this... wanna dissent at anytime in the future? Forget. They got YOUR NUMBER AND YOUR LOCATION. We're just all moths being attracted to the electric blue light sitting on the porch. bah.

[spritzenfoogle @ Jan 24th 2007 7:33AM]

Yes. We all trust the Bush Administration to lead us to happiness. Corporations gathering as much info on us as possible. The Pentagon asking for data from the Credit Bureaus for information "they need" to fight the nasty terrorists... all of this because 19 friends of Saudi Arabia, the country that the Bush Family visits regularly for business, take over some airliners with BOXCUTTERS. Suddenly, the American way of life, freedoms, privacy, even that "cowboy attitude" of free roaming in the great American countryside is now GONE. Federal and state intrusion on even FISHING requires drivers licenses, social sec numbers, information on where you go to camp, where you fly, credit cards purchases can be obtained by the government on a simple request, without a warrant. ON YOU. Maybe you talked to a guy at school whose parents are avid muslims, and his phone records have your phone number on his phone bill. THe Patriot Act allows the govt to TAP YOUR PHONE if they the suspect them of any terrorist activities.

Fear has created a NEW AMERICA. This new America has lost touch with the founding fathers and their specific desire to keep the citizens free of government intrusion for ANY REASON. Thomas Jefferson, possibly our smartest president, said that if the government isn't doing what the people want, the people have a right to overthrow it. Well, once the govt that's in power has all the info on YOU, your power to dissent, to fight back, to make a stand, is compromised. Freedom rules. Let's all remember that when we easily give out our info to all the corporations (mobile phone companies, banks, etc.) our personal info. I recommend renting a cheap apartment somewhere with a lot of friends pitching in to have all your mail sent to that apartment, and then hire someone to grab the mail twice a week and send it out to you. Never let them know where you are.

However, my email here is already logged, and I'm already located, just like YOU.

bah

[JImmy @ Mar 13th 2007 10:28PM]

if your moms a dee and your dads a dee then your a dee-dee-dee