'Technical' Eyewitness Wins Guilty Verdict, Reports ATX Technologies
12 March 1998
'Technical' Eyewitness Wins Guilty Verdict, Reports ATX Technologies
SAN ANTONIO, March 12 -- A Tulsa jury thought it was
"unbelievable", but in less than ten minutes they came back with the
verdict -- GUILTY.
The conviction of a known auto thief is the first high profile case in the
country for the On-Guard(R) Tracker bait car program, conducted with the Tulsa
Police Department Auto Theft Division. The Tracker uses a network of
satellites and cellular communication to locate a vehicle, its direction and
speed. The Tulsa Police Department is one of 27 law enforcement agencies
around the country participating in the On-Guard bait car program.
"The jury thought it (the On-Guard Tracker) was an unbelievable device and
a great crime fighting tool," said Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney
Doug Drummond, who prosecuted the case. "The Tracker is a prosecutor's dream
in these kinds of cases. Without question, it is much of the reason we got a
guilty verdict in less than ten minutes."
Drummond had the help of two On-Guard representatives before and during
the trial -- Sam Presas, the Emergency Communications Specialist and Detective
with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, who watched and listened the bait car
theft from a computer monitor in San Antonio, Texas and Bob Thompson, Director
of Response Services of ATX Technologies, the maker of the Tracker. "Auto
theft is very hard to prove unless you have an eyewitness. The mapping
abilities of the Tracker gave us a solid chain of evidence, complete with an
audio tape (of the crime in progress)," Drummond added.
The "technical" eyewitness in this case was Presas and the information the
bait car fed him in the On-Guard Response Center. Both Presas and the data
appeared in court to testify against the suspect. "The Tracker did all the
work, all I had to do was direct the Tulsa police to make the arrest," Presas
said. "With the audio record the Tracker provided I was able to testify to
the fact that two suspects took the car."
Before the trial, one of the two suspects entered a plea of guilty and
received a three-year probationary sentence. The second, Nick Hamilton,
entered a plea of innocent claiming he was a hitchhiker picked up by the
actual car thief. "But the place where Hamilton told Tulsa Police Sgt. David
Brockman he was picked up was different from the truck's actual route,"
Drummond added. The audio record of the two thieves in conversation also
helped.
The two thieves both received prison time. The 19 year old who entered
the guilty plea served four months in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections
and is now on probation for three years. Hamilton rejected a six year plea
bargain before the jury sentenced him to 36 years. "The defense attorney
argued entrapment...but the judge ruled there was no legal basis for that
defense and the jury simply didn't buy it," Drummond said.
"We are very proud of the Tracker's performance in this case," said Steve
Riebel, president and CEO of ATX Technologies. "I want to commend Sgt.
Brockman and his team in Tulsa for their hard work in making the bait car
program such a success, and congratulate them on this first high profile
conviction."
The On-Guard Tracker is primarily an automotive tracking and navigational
device for consumers or businesses who need to locate their vehicles, get
directions or roadside assistance. The Tracker was created, manufactured and
monitored by ATX Technologies, Inc. in San Antonio, the leading providers of
vehicle tracking, personal security and directional assistance for the
aftermarket of personal and business vehicles. There are more than 800
On-Guard dealers nationwide and more information is available by calling
1-800-466-4827.
SOURCE ATX Technologies, Inc.
