Crooks Steal GPS Devices... Which the Police Use to Catch Them

The old adage "Crime doesn't pay" is especially true for criminals who are--how should we phrase it?--intellectually challenged. Three men on Long Island, New York found this out the hard when they allegedly made off with 14 global positioning system devices... which led the authorities to the men, who were storing the devices in the home of one of the men.

Of course they wouldn't have made that error if they hadn't first violated what I would suggest is Cardinal Rule #1 of theft: make sure you know what you're stealing. In this case, the men thought that the GPS devices were actually cell phones, which they were planning to sell.

Suffolk County police said the GPS devices were stolen Monday night from a Town of Babylon public works garage in Lindenhurst, NY. The town, taking full advantage of the fact that they knew what was stolen, tapped into its GPS system, which showed that one of the devices was inside a home. Police reported that when they arrived at the home, one of the suspects was holding the device in his hands. Well, that would seem to be Rule #2 of theft: Don't stand around holding hot goods in your hands.

The man was arrested and charged with criminal possession of stolen property, and his son--who is 13 years old--was arrested and charged with grand larceny. May I suggest a Rule #3? Don't involve your own children in your criminal acts, especially if they're minors (though their criminal records will presumably be expunged when they turn 18. Still, not a good example for a child, wouldn't you say?)

According to town officials the 13 year old carried out the burglary with a 20-year-old man, who was charged with grand larceny.

The Town of Babylon has several hundred GPS devices installed in vehicles including snow plows and dump trucks.