Technology, Including GPS, Leads To Trouble For Michigan Man

A note to criminals: you’d better watch what you tweet while on bail. Otherwise, you might end up in even bigger trouble!

Tevin Bilal Clay, a 20-year old man from Flint, Michigan was arrested on charges he robbed a pharmacy in Burton. How was he nabbed? A GPS tracking device led the authorities directly to him. And another form of technology led to a second arrest after initially posting bail: Twitter.

GPS Device Brings Initial Arrest

According to the complaint initially filed in Flint US District Court, Clay robbed a Rite Aid pharmacy in Burton on April 11 just before 10 pm. He and another man were arrested thanks to the GPS tracking device hidden in with the money, leading the cops directly to their location only minutes after they fled the scene.

Clay was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond on April 17 by Magistrate Michael J. Hluchaniuk. The typical terms of any bail conditions: you must not flee the area. On June 18, the magistrate revoked the bond following an incident that took place June 3 where Clay was shot while at his father’s home. Clay lied to police about the shooting.

Twitter Turns Him In

So how were authorities able to ascertain he was lying? It seems federal authorities reviewed several tweets peppered with expletives in the days after the shooting, and they proved the statement initially given to police was false and that his intention was to flee the area prior to trial on the robbery charges.

Oh, and GPS technology had a role in this second arrest as well: he was part of a federal location monitoring program, and an officer was alerted he had left the home during unauthorized hours. His bond called for “strict lock-down” house arrest. His father claimed he was at the hospital following a shooting, and officers met with him there for more details.

The Tweets

Clay claimed he hadn’t seen the person responsible or the vehicle they were driving after being shot in the leg and the back of the knee. However, a tweet revealed the following: “I swear I looked at the gun spark when the second bullet hit me…I seen the car that the shot came from.”

In another tweet, Clay admits to lying to officers about the shooting: “Told the hook I didn’t see (expletive), just know wen it’s that time im coming.” Yet another tweet shows his intentions to flee, according to court documents: “Police Tryna Chase Me Im Jump The (expletive) Fence.”

His trial is set for July 22, and for some reason he has pleaded not guilty. However, with all of the evidence gathered by GPS device and recorded for the world on Twitter, it’s difficult to understand this plea whatsoever.

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Technology, Including GPS, Leads To Trouble For Michigan Man