Back in 2008, FairFax County Police were investigating a slew of sexual assaults, when David L. Foltz Jr., a registered sex offender, became a person of interest in the case. Detectives then covertly placed a GPS tracking system on a vehicle that Foltz was driving for work, without first obtaining a warrant.
After placing the GPS tracking device on the suspect’s vehicle, the data revealed that the suspect was in fact near the scene of another sexual assault. With this knowledge, officers began trailing Foltz.
While he was being followed by police, Foltz attempted to sexually assault a woman. The trailing officers intervened and stopped the act. They caught Foltz assaulting and forcefully trying to unbutton the victim’s pants.
During the appeal process, Foltz’s lawyers claimed that the evidence against him should be thrown out because the GPS tracking device violated his privacy and his Constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure. However, that line of defense didn’t work.
The Virginia Court of Appeals says Fairfax County Police committed no wrongdoing when they secretly placed the GPS tracking device on Foltz’s work vehicle without a warrant. The court upheld the conviction. Foltz was sentenced to life in prison.