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Information retrieved from the LandAirSea GPS Tracking Key provided New York's Chenango County Prosecutor with the evidence necessary to secure a second-degree murder conviction of George Ford Jr.
Ford initially contended he accidentally ran over his 12 year-old babysitter Shyanne Somers in the early hours of July 8, 2007, when Shyanne asked to see Ford's horses on Will Warner Road in the town of Otselic. However, the defendant's wife had placed a GPS tracking device within the vehicle after suspecting infidelity. The information from the Tracking Key conflicted with the events provided by Ford
Prosecutors, using the GPS data, showed that Ford never went to the pasture, but instead spent more than three hours behind an abandoned farmhouse a half-mile from where the girl was killed. Investigators testified that Somers got away from Ford, who chased her and deliberately ran her down shortly after 3 a.m.
The conviction in the Chenango County Courthouse on Feb. 19 represents a significant legal precedent, according to the GPS manufacturer.
In the past, GPS tracking devices have only provided a supporting role in the courtroom. However, the LandAirSea Tracking Key was the centerpiece of this trial.
"The GPS was the latest technology and proved beyond any doubt that this man intentionally killed that poor young girl that day," says Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride. "This will always be a landmark case because the GPS unit not only told us where he went but proved he wasn't telling the truth when he was talking to the police."
Steven Moehling, vice president of Sales for LandAirSea, was the prosecution's expert witness during the trial. "Law enforcement agencies have benefited from our products for many years and it's only a matter of time until GPS tracking technology plays a larger role within the legal system," he says. "This legal precedent further validates LandAirSea's engineering quality and market leadership."
For more information, visit www.landairsea.com.
