Pin-pointing the problem

It probably seemed a slice of pure genius to the three thieves involved in the heist. Their break-in at the Town of Babylon Public Works building in Lindenhurst , New York , went off without a hitch, and soon they were back in their homes trying to figure out how the 14 cell phones they’d made off with and planned to sell actually worked.

Had they been more technically inclined, they’d have figured out two things quickly enough to save themselves. First, that what they had stolen were not cell phones at all, but GPS devices. And second, how to turn them off.

Insofar as manhunts go, there have probably been few as simple or short-lived. Shortly after the theft, police followed the signal being emitted from one of the stolen units directly to the home—or more specifically, the hands—of 46-year-old Kurt Husfeldt.

Husfeldt is facing charges for criminal possession of stolen property, while his 13-year-old son and 20-year-old Steven Mangiapanella have grand larceny charges to deal with.