High Court: GPS track needs warrant

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court says police must get a search warrant before using GPS technology to track criminal suspects.

The court ruled in the case of Washington, D.C., nightclub owner Antoine Jones. A federal appeals court in Washington overturned his drug conspiracy conviction because police did not have a warrant when they installed a GPS device on his vehicle and then tracked his movements for a month.

The GPS device helped authorities link Jones to a suburban house used to stash money and drugs. He was sentenced to life in prison before the appeals court overturned the conviction. The Supreme Court agreed with the appeals court.

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The FBI in Grand Rapids used a GPS tracking device to follow the travels of Kristopher Cheyne and Derryl Lafave , who were suspected of robbing a bank twice in Moline.

It was that device -- along with GPS on one of their phones -- that allowed agents to track them into Ravenna for several days before they robbed the ChoiceOne Bank on Oct. 13.

The morning of the robbery, FBI agents tracked them again into Ravenna. GPS allowed FBI agents to warn Michigan State Police 20 minutes before the hold-up.

The chase that followed ended with the deaths of Walker Police Officer Trevor Slot and the two suspects.

Federal officials have refused to discuss the case, including whether they had a search warrant for the device. Target 8 reviewed federal search warrants but could not find one for the case. It's not unusual, however, for a judge to seal those warrants.

24 Hour News 8's Ken Kolker contributed to this report.